As the world commemorated the 75th anniversary of the United Nations (UN) in 2020, it was hit by one of its most significant global challenges since its inception: a global pandemic triggered by a highly infectious respiratory pathogen, COVID-19. It felt like a harbinger of worse to come if we do not change course consciously, fundamentally and with determination.

The havoc wreaked by the COVID-19 pandemic is striking: over four million lives lost so far; some 131 million people pushed into extreme poverty; soaring unemployment, with the International Labour Organization (ILO) estimating some 114 million jobs lost in 2020 alone; billions of livelihoods vanished overnight; a huge impact on gender equality following a stark increase in violence against women and girls, notably during lockdown situations; and a disproportionate loss of jobs among women, with a significant increase in unequally distributed care responsibilities. Nobody has been spared the direct or indirect consequences of the pandemic, except for a handful of billionaires who have benefited massively.

Its effects have been felt in particular by the most vulnerable in our societies – older people, women and young people under certain circumstances, children, those living with disabilities, indigenous and minority groups, to name a few – as well as by most countries in the Global South.

Years, perhaps even decades of development progress have been reversed, making it both more complex and more urgent to keep the promise of the 2030 Agenda and the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).

All of this put the UN system under huge pressure to rise to the challenge of a comprehensive pandemic response and to keep delivering. The UN has been there for everybody hit by the pandemic – from vulnerable populations in fragile settings to people in high-income countries who are not normally directly impacted by the work of the UN.

The UN managed to ensure business continuity literally overnight throughout its presences in all corners of the world, notably in fragile and conflict-affected countries. The pandemic has increased risks to peace everywhere and has posed an enormous threat to people caught up in conflict, which is why the UN Secretary-General made an immediate appeal for a global ceasefire in March 2020.