Question to the Department for International Development:

To ask the Secretary of State for International Development, how she plans to build on the UK’s leadership at the Global Vaccine Summit to help ensure a globally co-ordinated 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 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.

As Gavi’s lead donor, the UK is using our leadership at the Summit, to strengthen global coordination on the COVID-19 response. The Gavi Alliance, which includes the World Health Organisation (WHO) 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 UK is working closely with Alliance Partners, to ensure that routine immunisation is prioritised within countries’ primary health care recoveries.

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. This includes: global coordination; planning for country level preparedness and response; global procurement and supply; the science and research and development agenda; and communications.