Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:

To ask Her Majesty's Government what (1) advice, and (2) support, they are giving to the African Union to minimise the number of COVID-19 vaccinations that expire before being used.

The UK has deployed a Senior Global Health Security Adviser to the African Union (AU), and through membership of the Africa Vaccines Delivery Alliance provides advice to the AU on vaccine planning and deployment. The FCDO draws upon its network of Embassies and country based technical advisers to identify challenges on the ground, sharing information with the AU to determine an appropriate response. Through the World Health Organisation's (WHO) African COVID-19 Vaccine Deployment Taskforce the UK works with partners, including the Africa Centre for Disease Control, to assess country preparedness and build capacity for vaccine deployment. At national level, FCDO programmes have adapted to support vaccine campaigns. For example, in Nigeria, the Lafiya programme contributes to vaccine technical working groups including data and monitoring adverse events and wastage.

The UK has committed £548 million to the COVAX Advance Market Commitment to support global equitable access to vaccines. This includes technical support to countries to develop and implement National Deployment and Vaccination Plans, guiding the rapid roll of out of vaccines from COVAX, bilateral deals and other donations in line with WHO guidelines. The UK has provided £20m to the AU's Covid-19 Response Fund, which provides equipment and supplies to Member States to support vaccine deployment.