Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, whether his Department has had discussions with UNICEF on its VaccinAid campaign; and what steps he is taking to ensure that countries that require vaccines receive them.

Officials in the FCDO have had discussions with UNICEF on its VaccinAid campaign, Give the World A Shot. FCDO has shared information on the campaign through our social media channels. FCDO officials receive regular requests from the UK public asking to donate in support of COVAX vaccinations, and this initiative will allow the generous UK public to support efforts to ensure that vaccines are reaching across the world.

The UK is committed to rapid equitable access to safe and effective vaccines, and has committed £548 million to the COVAX Advance Market Commitment (AMC), which is the international initiative to support global equitable access to vaccines, of which the UK is one of the largest bilateral donors. Our commitment helped encourage other donors to commit $1 billion by the end of 2020. Our funding will contribute to the supply of at least 1.3 billion doses of COVID-19 vaccines in 2021 for up to 92 developing countries. Over 100 countries and territories have received COVAX deliveries. The Prime Minister has also said that the UK will share the majority of future vaccine does surplus to domestic needs with COVAX.