Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, for what reason the Government is recommending the deletion of text relating to generic competition in operative paragraph 2(8) of the draft World Health Assembly 74 resolution entitled Strengthening Local Production of Medicines and Other Health Technologies to Improve Access.

The UK is supportive of the World Health Assembly 74 Resolution on Strengthening Local Production of Medicines and Other Health Technologies to Improve Access. We are engaging in ongoing negotiations with 194 other member states to reach consensus, and it is not appropriate to comment on UK positions during this time.

The UK is supporting efforts to increase vaccine manufacturing capacity. We have facilitated engagement by industry and the research community to discuss the evolving WHO proposals for the COVID-19 Technology Access Pool (C-TAP). During our G7 presidency, we will continue this work with stakeholders and the WHO as it establishes the governance structures and refines the operating model for C-TAP. The UK is also providing technical assistance to catalyse private sector and development finance investment to in manufacturing capacity, particularly in Africa. We are working with the key international partners involved in vaccine manufacture and procurement. These include the Coalition for Epidemic Preparedness Innovations (CEPI), Gavi the Vaccine Alliance, the WHO and UNICEF for production of COVID-19 vaccines for the current pandemic.