Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what steps her Department is taking to ensure pandemic preparedness efforts lead to investment in primary healthcare services and the strengthening of routine immunisation services globally.

The UK is shaping discussions on global learning from COVID-19 to improve future pandemic preparedness and response. Strengthening health systems is core, guided by FCDO's Health Systems Strengthening approach paper. The Prime Minister recently announced a £25 million UK contribution to a new "Financial Intermediary Fund" for pandemic preparedness. The UK will champion the importance of increased investment in primary healthcare in the design of this Fund.

The UK is the world's biggest funder of routine childhood vaccination, through Gavi, the Vaccine Alliance. We are working with partners to help recover the losses in routine immunisation caused by COIVD-19 and to strengthen the health systems that will both improve routine immunisation and provide a solid foundation for responding to the next pandemic.