9 October 2020I’d like to congratulate the World Food Programme on being awarded the Nobel Peace Prize today. This week, China, the Republic of Korea and Nauru joined the COVAX Facility, bringing the total number of countries and economies that are part of the global initiative for vaccine access to 171. Millions of children globally are missing out on life-saving vaccines. Rapidly restoring immunization clinics, campaigns and outreach activities is the only way to prevent predictable outbreaks and deaths from diseases like measles and polio. SAGE has issued new recommendations that all countries urgently prioritize implementation of catch-up vaccination campaigns. Almost 2 million babies are stillborn every year, or 1 every 16 seconds, according to the first estimates of stillbirth published yesterday by UNICEF, the World Bank, WHO and the UN Department of Economic and Social Affairs. Tomorrow, WHO will host the Big Event for Mental Health, an online global advocacy event that will bring together international and national leaders, advocates, sportspeople and artists, including the K-pop group SuperM from the Republic of Korea and Korede Bello from Nigeria.