Asked by: Lord Bishop of Winchester (Bishops - Bishops)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask Her Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of (1) the contribution made to aiding reconciliation by, and (2) the vulnerability of, religious groups in Myanmar.
Answered by Lord Goldsmith of Richmond Park
The UK is very concerned by divisive, racist and nationalist propaganda perpetuated by the military regime since the coup. Our Embassy is meeting with a range of stakeholders, including Buddhist, Christian and Muslim leaders who are bravely standing up against the military junta. The UK also works with partners and other community leaders to improve religious tolerance and social cohesion through facilitating a greater understanding of religious and cultural differences, and promoting dialogue between different communities across Myanmar.
We continue to raise our concern, including at the UN Human Rights Council, at the Race and Religion Laws and the 1982 Citizenship Law which have been used to discriminate against non-Buddhists.
Asked by: Lord Bishop of Winchester (Bishops - Bishops)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask Her Majesty's Government what steps they are taking to assist developing countries to develop a working cold-chain storage system for storing COVID-19 vaccines at the required temperatures.
Answered by Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon - Minister of State (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
The UK is committed to supporting rapid and equitable access to safe and effective vaccines. This includes strengthening country health systems, and ensuring that new vaccines are appropriate for various settings, such as rural areas. The UK's £1.65 billion commitment to Gavi, the Vaccine Alliance over five years includes support to strengthen vaccine supply chains, and improve cold chain technologies. Our support to public-private partnerships such as the Coalition for Epidemic Preparedness Innovations (CEPI) also includes developing heat-stable vaccines that can be distributed through existing immunisation cold chains, or without refrigeration.
Asked by: Lord Bishop of Winchester (Bishops - Bishops)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask Her Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the COVAX Facility's ability to provide (1) timely, (2) equitable, and (3) universal, access to COVID-19 vaccines for developing countries; and what plans they have to work with other countries to coordinate the relaxation of intellectual property protections for COVID-19 pharmaceutical technology to allow for such access.
Answered by Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon - Minister of State (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
The UK assesses that COVAX is on track to deliver its targets. Deliveries of vaccines have now begun, and COVAX's success in negotiating deals with manufacturers also means it is making good progress in securing and delivering its goal of at least 2 billion doses in 2021, including at least 1.3 billion for up to 92 low- and middle-income countries. The UK regularly engages stakeholders on the global distribution of COVID-19 vaccines, participating in COVAX decision-making bodies through its governance mechanisms, including a seat on the Gavi Board. The UK is also a founding member of the Facilitation Council of the Access to Covid-19 Tools (ACT) Accelerator, a coalition of leading international organisations to accelerate development and access to COVID-19 vaccines, treatments, and diagnostics.
Considering the evidence available, we do not believe that the relaxation of intellectual property (IP) rights would be an effective measure to address the multiple factors on which access to medicines depends. The existing IP system has mobilised research and development to deliver new medicines and technologies to detect, prevent, and treat COVID-19.