Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:

To ask Her Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the reported remarks of the co-chair of the African Union Vaccine Delivery Alliance regarding distribution of COVID-19 vaccines to Africa; and what steps will they take to reduce the likelihood of further mutations of the virus due to a lack of vaccine availability.

We share the concerns raised by Dr Alakija, co-chair of the African Union Vaccine Delivery Alliance, on the inequity in COVID-19 vaccine coverage across Africa compared with the rest of the world. That is why under our G7 Presidency, we gained commitment from G7 Leaders to share at least 870 million surplus doses with low- and middle- income countries by 2022. This includes 100 million by the UK. As of 29 November, over 6 million UK donated doses have gone to 14 African countries. The UK has also donated £548 million to the COVAX Facility, set up to ensure equitable access to COVID-19 vaccines for 92 low- and middle-income countries, 46 of which are in Africa.

To reduce the likelihood of further mutations, we will continue to push for accelerated vaccine coverage through our existing support. We are also supporting work beyond vaccines to strengthen global surveillance, including through the UK Health Security Agency's New Variant Assessment Platform. This will help identify new variants of interest and support a rapid response.