New York, July 14 -- While the scale and severity of the COVID-19 pandemic is being felt in developing and developed countries alike, the President of the UN General Assembly maintained on Monday that the response must focus on "the two-thirds of the world's population at risk of being left behind".

"We need to focus on specific actions that will alleviate the impact on the well-being and livelihoods of people in developing countries and the marginalized around the world", Tijjani Muhammad-Bande told the virtual United Cities and Local Government Forum, part of the on-going High Level Political Forum on Sustainable Development.

"We need to address their specific needs now while building back".

Shifting populations

By 2050, 68 per cent...