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United Nations Secretary-General Antonio Guterres has lashed out at vaccine inequality which he says has meant that the burden of the COVID-19 pandemic has fallen disproportionately on the poor, Euronews reports. 

Guterres told a panel at the International Monetary Fund that global solidarity had been "missing in action" and that people living in conflict zones and fragile states were suffering worst of all.

He said that 100 million people had been forced into poverty since the beginning of the pandemic and that four billion lacked social support, health care, and job protection.

Such inequality, Guterres said, was "creating a breeding ground for violence and conflict."

A key issue, the UN chief said, was that while the developed world had access to vaccines and had been able to vaccinate their populations, poorer nations still did not have what they needed.

"Vaccine inequality is a moral outrage that is condemning the world to millions more deaths, and prolonging an economic slowdown that could cost trillions of dollars, hitting the poorest countries hardest of all," he said.

He urged nations to back the World Health Organization's Global COVID-19 vaccination strategy, which aims to get 70% of people in every country vaccinated by 2022.

"This will not only guarantee that vaccines are delivered quickly and fairly; it will strengthen local and national health systems and help prevent future pandemics."