Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what recent steps her Department has taken to support the (a) delivery, (b) transport and (c) deployment of covid-19 vaccines in the developing world.

The UK is committed to ending the acute phase of the pandemic as soon as possible, and strongly supports the COVAX Facility as a key mechanism to deliver this. UK support for delivering vaccinations has been channelled through our investments in multilateral partners. The UK is one of the largest donors to the COVAX's Advance Market Commitment (AMC). Our £548 million commitment will support the COVAX AMC to deliver up to 1.8 billion doses for up to 92 low and middle-income countries. The COVAX Facility is a multilateral mechanism that pools resources to accelerate the development, manufacture, and delivery of COVID-19 vaccines. COVAX and its Alliance partners work closely with governments to ensure robust and transparent distribution, and reporting plans are in place to ensure priority groups are reached.

Health system capacity, demand, and vaccine hesitancy are key factors in effective vaccine roll outs. Through the FCDO's Africa Vaccine Confidence Campaign, the UK is working with experts at Wits University in South Africa to build vaccine confidence. Along with COVAX partners, the UK is also working with countries to help health systems be better prepared in delivering vaccines. This includes engaging with communities and their leaders to build trust, provide correct information, and encourage uptake.