Question to the Department for International Development:

To ask Her Majesty's Government what action they are taking to support less economically developed countries to remove all financial barriers to healthcare to deliver free testing and treatment for COVID-19.

The UK champions universal health coverage (UHC) as vital to ensuring access to quality essential health services for all and helping to protect everyone from infectious diseases, including COVID-19. UHC includes ensuring that no one is impoverished through paying for health services and reducing financial barriers to access especially for the poorest and most vulnerable. Our programmes help poor and vulnerable people to meet food and other basic needs including direct and indirect costs of health care, such as transport so they can access essential health services.

The UK has, so far, pledged £764 million of UK aid to help end the COVID-19 pandemic, in support of the coordinated international response through the international financing institutions, multilaterals and global health initiatives, and DFID programmes. This is to meet the urgent health, humanitarian and economic needs of vulnerable people in developing countries. This funding includes up to £40 million to the Wellcome Therapeutics Accelerator and up to £23 million to the Foundation for Innovative New Diagnostics, both of which are central to efforts to accelerate development and access to new COVID-19 treatments and tests.