Question to the Department for International Development:

To ask the Secretary of State for International Development, with reference to the Government's hosting of the Global Vaccine Summit 2020 on 4 June 2020, what steps she plans to take to help ensure that there is a globally coordinated response to the covid-19 pandemic.

The UK is proud to have raised $8.8 billion for Gavi, the Vaccine Alliance at the Global Vaccine Summit on 4 June. The UK pledged £1.65 billion to Gavi for 2021 to 2025. The Gavi Alliance, which includes the World Health Organisation and UNICEF, will play a vital role in maintaining essential services, including routine immunisation, throughout the pandemic. Routine immunisation is the strongest shield against secondary outbreaks of vaccine preventable diseases. The funding raised by all donors at the Global Vaccine Summit will enable Gavi to immunise 300 million more children and save up to 8 million lives by 2025. The UK has also reallocated $60 million for Gavi’s Covax AMC, to ensure access in the poorest countries to any COVID-19 vaccine.

The UK is a key supporter of the COVID-19 pandemic response. This includes a global health response led by the World Health Organisation (WHO). The UK is a key donor to the WHO and has already contributed £75 million to help the organisation lead international efforts to stop the spread of COVID-19 and end the pandemic.