Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what assessment the Government has made of the potential merits of allocating additional funding to COVAX and other international coronavirus programmes to increase the pace of global vaccination and help tackle new overseas virus variants before they arrive in the UK.

The UK is committed to rapid equitable access to safe and effective vaccines. We are among the largest bilateral contributors to the COVAX Advance Market Commitment (AMC), committing £548 million in 2020. Our contribution included a match-funding pledge that helped encourage $1 billion of commitments from other donors. The UK's support and contribution to COVAX has helped it reach the milestone of supplying vaccines to over 100 countries and economies.

We recognise the need to improve global coverage, and address new variants to end the acute phase of the pandemic. This is why on Thursday 15 April, I spoke at the AMC Investment Opportunity Launch, supporting the COVAX Advance Market Commitment 2021 investment case to secure a further $2 billion from donors. This aims to procure 500 million more doses to increase vaccine coverage from 20% to 30% in developing countries in 2021. The UK is championing global access through our Presidency of the G7, and we have committed to share the majority of our surplus vaccine doses with COVAX.