To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what steps his Department is taking to support global immunisation and vaccination efforts; and if he will make a statement.
Answered on
26 October 2023
The COVID-19 pandemic dramatically impacted global health and immunisation. The UK Government is committed to supporting efforts to get routine immunisation back on track and has invested £1.65 billion to Gavi, the Vaccine Alliance from 2021-2025 to support their mission to immunise 300 million children and save up to 8 million lives from vaccine preventable diseases over this period. The UK has supported Gavi since its inception in 2000, during which time Gavi has vaccinated more than 1 billion children in 78 lower-income countries, saving over 17 million lives. Alongside our Gavi investment, we are working with countries to build stronger primary health care systems as a core part of restoring immunisation services.