Global South: Covid-19 Funding

The UK has pledged up to £769 million of aid to support the global health response and vulnerable countries. As the host of the record-breaking Gavi summit and the world’s top donor to the Coalition for Epidemic Preparedness, the UK is leading the way in finding a vaccine that helps the most vulnerable countries. We have also made sure that new funding goes directly to the immediate response in these countries, and reflects programmes already in place to help people straight away.

As of last week, the Government had given less than half of the money that is committed to supporting the world’s poorest in the face of this devastating global pandemic. It really is not good enough. Have the Government simply outsourced the responsibility to the various multilaterals? Does the Minister have any idea whatsoever of where UK taxpayers’ money has actually gone?

As I explained, the UK is playing a leading role in the international response to the pandemic, with pledges of up to £769 million of UK aid to help to address the urgent needs in vulnerable countries through research and development, through money for the International Monetary Fund’s Catastrophe Containment and Relief Trust, and in supporting the global health response. We are working with the UN to ensure that our contributions are channelled to NGOs and other recipients as quickly as possible.