Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what (a) practical assistance and (b) expertise has the Government has recently offered to other countries to help the global fight against the covid-19 pandemic.

The UK has been at the forefront of the international response to COVID-19. We have committed up to £1.3 billion of aid spending to counter the impact of the pandemic, and have adapted existing bilateral programmes to support communities affected in partner countries. For example, we have made a significant contribution to government-led efforts in preventing and responding to cases of COVID-19 in South Sudan, including support for infection prevention and control, as well as water, sanitation, and hygiene activities. In Bangladesh, we are helping to maintain essential humanitarian services, supporting Rohingya and host communities for COVID-19 preparedness in refugee camps. We are also providing direct assistance, for example with an FCDO-funded package of 495 oxygen concentrators and 200 ventilators to support India's COVID-19 response, following the recent surge in cases there.

On technical expertise, the UK Public Health Rapid Support Team (PHRST), funded by the Department of Health and Social Care (DHSC), and operated by Public Health England (PHE) and the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine, is looking at studies and innovative engineering to provide treatment in low-resource settings. This is supporting the World Health Organisation (WHO) and Africa Centres for Disease Control and Prevention to convene experts to discuss and progress modelling, data collection, and research with African partners.