Question to the Department for International Development:

To ask the Secretary of State for International Development, what assessment she has made of the potential merits of the proposal from the Government of Costa Rica for the World Health Organisation to create a global pool of rights in covid-19 related technologies for the detection, prevention, control and treatment of covid-19.

Proposals for the development of, and access to, new COVID-19 tools are currently being discussed, including at the World Health Assembly. The UK has long supported affordable and equitable access to essential medicines, vaccines and other health commodities in the UK and globally, and has worked with others to make that happen through global and national partnerships. We are committed to collaborating with public and private partners in the UK and internationally, including exploring existing voluntary arrangements, such as patent pools, to accelerate development.

The UK is also at the forefront of global efforts to ensure equitable access to potential COVID-19 vaccines, treatments and tests. We have committed over £313 million of UK aid to the Coalition for Epidemic Preparedness Innovations (CEPI), the Wellcome Therapeutics Accelerator and the Foundation for Innovative New Diagnostics. This funding, alongside our £1.65 billion pledge to GAVI, the Vaccine Alliance, will support the development, manufacture and delivery of COVID-19 vaccines, treatments and tests for people in the Global South.