Question to the Department for International Development:

To ask the Secretary of State for International Development, what steps she is taking to ensure that developing countries have access to covid-19 testing.

The UK is at the forefront of global research focussed on the development of potential COVID-19 tests, vaccines and treatments, and is providing aid to organisations central to the global response. This includes DFID’s £23 million investment in the Foundation for Innovative New Diagnostics, a global non-profit organisation driving innovation in developing and delivering tests to combat major diseases affecting the world’s poorest populations, including for COVID-19. The UK’s £75 million investment in the World Health Organization is supporting the organisation’s key role in providing technical support to countries to establish COVID-19 testing strategies and capacity.