Question to the Department for International Development:

To ask the Secretary of State for International Development, when (a) she and (b) her Ministers last met Dr John Nkengasong, Director of the African Union CDC, to discuss tackling the covid-19 pandemic.

We are supporting the Africa Centres for Disease Control (Africa CDC) COVID-19 response by deploying a UK Public Health Rapid Support Team and £2 million of research and response capacity-building funding alongside the Wellcome Trust from our Joint Initiative on Research for Epidemic Preparedness Programme. We also have a Public Health England expert on long term secondment to Africa CDC with whom I have spoken.

Members of the Government and UK officials are in regular contact with senior Africa CDC representatives. I spoke with the African Union Commissioner for Social Affairs, H.E. Amira El Fadil and Dr Benjamin Djoudalbaye, Head of the Division of Policy, Health Diplomacy and Communication on Tuesday 21 April to discuss the work of Africa CDC and the UK’s on-going support. UK officials have also spoken with Dr John Nkengasong and his team and are due to do so again this week.