Coronavirus: Disease Control

(asked on 9th March 2020) - View Source

Question to the Department for International Development:

To ask Her Majesty's Government what steps they are taking to tackle COVID-19 globally.


Answered by
 Portrait
Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon
Minister of State (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
This question was answered on 17th March 2020

The UK has announced up to £241 million of aid funding to support the global efforts to combat the outbreak of COVID-19.

This includes £150 million to the International Monetary Fund to help developing countries focus their available resources to tackle the virus and a £65 million investment into COVID-19 research, which includes eight vaccine candidates and rapid diagnostics tests.

The £150 million to the International Monetary Fund’s Catastrophe Containment and Relief Trust is to help developing countries deal with the short-term economic difficulties caused by coronavirus, allowing them to focus their spending on tackling the outbreak. This funding will help lessen the disease’s future global economic impact and thereby help safeguard the UK economy. A team of infectious disease experts will also travel to developing countries to support global efforts to prevent further spread.

UK aid has a longstanding record of supporting countries across the globe to prepare for large disease outbreaks. We are closely working with our partners, including the World Health Organization, to support vulnerable countries ensuring they are prepared and have adequate supplies and health systems can cope.

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