Written question asked by Baroness Ritchie of Downpatrick (Non-affiliated) on Monday, 23 November 2020, in the House of Lords. It was due for an answer on Monday, 7 December 2020. It was answered by Baroness Sugg (Conservative) on Thursday, 26 November 2020 on behalf of the Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office.

Developing Countries: Coronavirus

Question: To ask Her Majesty's Government what steps they are taking to provide equitable access to COVID-19 vaccines for those living in the global south.

Original answer: The UK is committed to rapid, equitable access to safe and effective vaccines as demonstrated by our strong support for the Access for COVID-19 Tools (ACT) Accelerator. The UK has contributed up to £813 million to the ACT-Accelerator partners. This includes the UK's commitment of up to £548 million to the COVAX Advance Market Commitment (AMC) - the international initiative to support global equitable access to vaccines, of which the UK is the largest bilateral donor. Our commitment to the COVAX AMC will support access to COVID-19 vaccines for up to 92 developing countries by contributing to the supply of 1 billion doses in 2021, and vaccinations for up to 500 million people (subject to vaccines successfully securing stringent regulatory approvals).

The answer was corrected by Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon (Conservative)

on Wednesday, 16 December 2020 on behalf of the Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office.

Corrected answer: The UK is committed to rapid, equitable access to safe and effective vaccines as demonstrated by our strong support for the Access for COVID-19 Tools (ACT) Accelerator. The UK has contributed up to £813 million to the ACT-Accelerator partners. This includes the UK's commitment of up to £548 million to the COVAX Advance Market Commitment (AMC) - the international initiative to support global equitable access to vaccines, of which the UK is the largest bilateral donor. Our commitment to the COVAX AMC will support access to COVID-19 vaccines for up to 92 developing countries by contributing to the supply of 1 billion doses in 2021, and vaccinations for up to 500 million people (subject to vaccines successfully securing stringent regulatory approvals).

Secondary information