UNITED NATIONS — The United Nations says the UN-backed programme to provide COVID-19 vaccines to the world's most vulnerable people has delivered more than 36 million doses to 86 poor and developing countries to date.

UN spokesman Stephane Dujarric said Monday that COVAX expects to allocate 201 million doses by the end of May. Still, he stressed that “the issue of vaccine inequity and unequal distribution of the vaccine remains clear for all to see and remains troubling.”

UN Deputy Secretary-General Amina Mohammed said on March 26 that “60 per cent of the COVID vaccine supply was reserved by a handful of wealthy countries," adding that “some developing countries may not receive the vaccine until 2024.”

Dujarric again urged greater financial support to the COVAX facility, which is part of the World Health Organization's ACT-Accelerator program.

The ACT-Accelerator said last week that despite donor contributions amounting to US$11 billion, it needs an additional US$22.1 billion in 2021 to fund the delivery of over two billion doses of vaccines, 900 million tests and up to 100 million new treatment courses.