U.N. chief scorns vaccine rollout, billionaire astronauts

"Promises, after all, are worthless if people do not see results in their daily lives. Failure to deliver creates space for some of the darkest impulses of humanity. It provides oxygen for easy fixes, pseudo-solutions and conspiracy theories," he said.

"A majority of the wealthier world is vaccinated. Over 90% of Africans are still waiting for their first dose. This is a moral indictment of the state of our world. It is an obscenity. We passed the science test, but we are getting an F in Ethics," he added.

World leaders are meeting in person this year after the previous General Assembly was held virtually, due to the pandemic.