Asked by: Clive Lewis (Labour - Norwich South)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, with reference to the draft World Health Assembly 74 resolution entitled Strengthening Local Production of Medicines and Other Health Technologies to Improve Access, what the Government's policy is on supporting an increase in covid-19 vaccine manufacturing capacity in developing countries; and what assessment the Government has made of the potential contribution that an increase in covid-19 vaccine manufacturing capacity in developing countries might make to tackling the covid-19 pandemic.
Answered by Wendy Morton - Shadow Minister (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
The UK is supportive of the World Health Assembly 74 Resolution on Strengthening Local Production of Medicines and Other Health Technologies to Improve Access. We are engaging in ongoing negotiations with 194 other member states to reach consensus, and it is not appropriate to comment on UK positions during this time.
The UK is supporting efforts to increase vaccine manufacturing capacity. We have facilitated engagement by industry and the research community to discuss the evolving WHO proposals for the COVID-19 Technology Access Pool (C-TAP). During our G7 presidency, we will continue this work with stakeholders and the WHO as it establishes the governance structures and refines the operating model for C-TAP. The UK is also providing technical assistance to catalyse private sector and development finance investment to in manufacturing capacity, particularly in Africa. We are working with the key international partners involved in vaccine manufacture and procurement. These include the Coalition for Epidemic Preparedness Innovations (CEPI), Gavi the Vaccine Alliance, the WHO and UNICEF for production of COVID-19 vaccines for the current pandemic.
Asked by: Clive Lewis (Labour - Norwich South)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, for what reason the Government is recommending the deletion of text relating to generic competition in operative paragraph 2(8) of the draft World Health Assembly 74 resolution entitled Strengthening Local Production of Medicines and Other Health Technologies to Improve Access.
Answered by Wendy Morton - Shadow Minister (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
The UK is supportive of the World Health Assembly 74 Resolution on Strengthening Local Production of Medicines and Other Health Technologies to Improve Access. We are engaging in ongoing negotiations with 194 other member states to reach consensus, and it is not appropriate to comment on UK positions during this time.
The UK is supporting efforts to increase vaccine manufacturing capacity. We have facilitated engagement by industry and the research community to discuss the evolving WHO proposals for the COVID-19 Technology Access Pool (C-TAP). During our G7 presidency, we will continue this work with stakeholders and the WHO as it establishes the governance structures and refines the operating model for C-TAP. The UK is also providing technical assistance to catalyse private sector and development finance investment to in manufacturing capacity, particularly in Africa. We are working with the key international partners involved in vaccine manufacture and procurement. These include the Coalition for Epidemic Preparedness Innovations (CEPI), Gavi the Vaccine Alliance, the WHO and UNICEF for production of COVID-19 vaccines for the current pandemic.
Asked by: Clive Lewis (Labour - Norwich South)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, whether the Government supports referencing the role of the COVID-19 Technology Access Pool in the draft World Health Assembly 74 resolution entitled Strengthening Local Production of Medicines and Other Health Technologies to Improve Access.
Answered by Wendy Morton - Shadow Minister (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
The UK is supportive of the World Health Assembly 74 Resolution on Strengthening Local Production of Medicines and Other Health Technologies to Improve Access. We are engaging in ongoing negotiations with 194 other member states to reach consensus, and it is not appropriate to comment on UK positions during this time.
The UK is supporting efforts to increase vaccine manufacturing capacity. We have facilitated engagement by industry and the research community to discuss the evolving WHO proposals for the COVID-19 Technology Access Pool (C-TAP). During our G7 presidency, we will continue this work with stakeholders and the WHO as it establishes the governance structures and refines the operating model for C-TAP. The UK is also providing technical assistance to catalyse private sector and development finance investment to in manufacturing capacity, particularly in Africa. We are working with the key international partners involved in vaccine manufacture and procurement. These include the Coalition for Epidemic Preparedness Innovations (CEPI), Gavi the Vaccine Alliance, the WHO and UNICEF for production of COVID-19 vaccines for the current pandemic.
Asked by: Clive Lewis (Labour - Norwich South)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what assessment the Government has made of the potential effect of draft World Health Assembly 74 resolution on Strengthening Local Production of Medicines and Other Health Technologies to Improve Access on expanding (a) production of and (b) access to essential medicines and vaccines.
Answered by Wendy Morton - Shadow Minister (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
The UK is supportive of the World Health Assembly 74 Resolution on Strengthening Local Production of Medicines and Other Health Technologies to Improve Access. We are engaging in ongoing negotiations with 194 other member states to reach consensus, and it is not appropriate to comment on UK positions during this time.
The UK is supporting efforts to increase vaccine manufacturing capacity. We have facilitated engagement by industry and the research community to discuss the evolving WHO proposals for the COVID-19 Technology Access Pool (C-TAP). During our G7 presidency, we will continue this work with stakeholders and the WHO as it establishes the governance structures and refines the operating model for C-TAP. The UK is also providing technical assistance to catalyse private sector and development finance investment to in manufacturing capacity, particularly in Africa. We are working with the key international partners involved in vaccine manufacture and procurement. These include the Coalition for Epidemic Preparedness Innovations (CEPI), Gavi the Vaccine Alliance, the WHO and UNICEF for production of COVID-19 vaccines for the current pandemic.
Asked by: Clive Lewis (Labour - Norwich South)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what further plans he has to consult on the WHO COVID-19 Technology Access Pool with (a) the pharmaceutical industry, (b) research institutions and (c) G7 members.
Answered by Wendy Morton - Shadow Minister (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
Since the World Health Organisation (WHO) provided initial details on the COVID-19 technology access pool (C-TAP) in October 2020, the UK has, and will continue to engage with all interested parties. We are in ongoing discussions with the WHO as it refines both governance structures and the operating model for C-TAP, and will seek clarity on questions being posed by stakeholders.
Asked by: Clive Lewis (Labour - Norwich South)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what steps the Government is taking to use its representation on the Boards of (a) Gavi, the Vaccines Alliance and (b) the Coalition for Epidemic Preparedness Innovations to assess how those organisations can support the operation of the WHO's COVID-19 Technology Access Pool.
Answered by Wendy Morton - Shadow Minister (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
Gavi, the Vaccine Alliance, and the Coalition for Epidemic Preparedness Innovations (CEPI) are co-leads of the vaccines pillar of the Access to COVID-19 Technologies (ACT) Accelerator. The ACT-Accelerator is an initiative to support collaboration and resource mobilisation in accelerating the development of, and equitable access to new COVID-19 vaccines, treatments, and tests. In its COVID-19 Technology Access Pool (C-TAP) concept note, the World Health Organisation sets out that the ACT-Accelerator is a separate but complementary initiative to C-TAP.
Asked by: Clive Lewis (Labour - Norwich South)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, for what reason the Government has not endorsed the World Health Organisation's Solidarity Call To Action.
Answered by Wendy Morton - Shadow Minister (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
While we support the overarching aims of the Call to Action, we have not endorsed it in its current form. This is because specific elements remain unclear. Signing a Global Call to Action means our obligations must be made clear so we can meet them in full.
Asked by: Clive Lewis (Labour - Norwich South)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, how much Official Development Assistance is spent annually by the Government on advancing vaccine manufacturing capabilities in low and middle-income countries.
Answered by Wendy Morton - Shadow Minister (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
The UK is one of the biggest global donors on COVID-19, and has pledged over £1 billion of UK aid to counter the health, humanitarian, and economic risks of the pandemic. To support global access to vaccines, we fund international organisations in delivering an 'end to end' approach to developing new vaccines, treatments, and tests, from research, development, and clinical trials through to supporting manufacturing scale-up and delivery. We report aid spend using standard Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) Development Assistance Committee codes, which do not track how much aid is spent on vaccine manufacturing specifically.
Building vaccine manufacturing capacity is a long-term, capital intensive, and high-risk endeavour. The UK is providing technical assistance to catalyse private sector and development finance investment into vaccine manufacturing in Africa, the region with the least manufacturing capacity globally. This includes engaging with the International Finance Corporation (IFC) to support business case development for their $4 billion Global Health Platform to support manufacturing of health essentials such as therapeutics, diagnostics, and vaccines.