The world is on the brink of “catastrophic moral failure” in sharing Covid-19 vaccines, the head of the World Health Organization said on Monday, January 18, urging countries and manufacturers to spread doses more fairly around the world, Reuters reports.

WHO Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said the prospects for equitable distribution were at “serious risk” just as its COVAX vaccine-sharing scheme aimed to start distributing inoculations next month.

He noted 44 bilateral deals were signed last year and at least 12 have already been signed this year.

“This could delay COVAX deliveries and create exactly the scenario COVAX was designed to avoid, with hoarding, a chaotic market, an uncoordinated response and continued social and economic disruption,” he said.

Such a “me-first approach” left the world’s poorest and most vulnerable at risk, he said at the opening of the body’s annual Executive Board meeting in virtual format.

Observers say this board meeting, which last until next Tuesday, is one of the most important in the U.N. health agency’s more than 70-year history and could shape its role in global health long after the pandemic ends.