Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:

To ask Her Majesty's Government what plans they have to liaise with (1) charities, and (2) local organisations, in order to speed up the delivery of COVID-19 vaccines to frontline countries in Africa.

The UK has donated £548 million to COVAX Advance Market Commitment (AMC), that has delivered over 188 million vaccine doses to 44 African AMC countries. In addition to the financial contribution to COVAX, the UK has donated 6 million surplus doses to 14 countries in Africa, mostly through COVAX. COVAX, and its key partners including UNICEF, work with the national governments, charities and local organisations to distribute the vaccines. The UK is an active member of the Vaccine Funder's Forum that meets bi-weekly to monitor progress and ensure better coordination among partners. The UK has also contributed £20m to the African Union's COVID-19 Response Fund.

The UK is actively working to speed up the supply and delivery of COVID-19 vaccines in African countries by engaging directly with governments, regional organisations and other partners. For example, the UK has recently developed toolkits to guide and encourage local health practitioners and social media influencers to address COVID-19 misinformation, and are planning to engage with partners in African countries to implement these tools.