皇冠体育app

• 拢105 million of emergency aid will help countries most in need fight Omicron and other Covid-19 variants, with a particular focus on Africa
• funding will help millions of people by supporting measures to reduce transmission, scale-up testing, and boost oxygen supplies
• the UK has now fulfilled its pledge to donate 30 million coronavirus vaccine doses by the end of 2021, marking the 1-year anniversary of the UK becoming the first country to approve the Oxford-AstraZeneca vaccine

Foreign Secretary Liz Truss has pledged up to 拢105 million of UK emergency aid to help vulnerable countries tackle the Omicron COVID-19 variant, with a particular focus on Africa.

Vital aid will be delivered through trusted partners and will:

• scale-up testing: especially in parts of Africa where testing rates for COVID-19 remain lowest 鈥� allowing health systems to track and respond to the spread of the virus more effectively. This is in addition to the UK鈥檚 world-leading genomic sequencing support
• improve access to oxygen supplies for ventilators: a surge in demand for oxygen is a significant risk for some countries
• provide communities with hygiene advice, products and access to handwashing facilities and support deep cleaning in schools, health centres and other public places. This will build on the successful global hygiene campaign between UK aid and Unilever which has reached over 1.2 billion people since its launch in 2020
• fund the UK鈥檚 ground-breaking science and research into the spread of variants like Omicron to enable innovative evidence-based policy responses in low and middle-income countries
• ready the UK鈥檚 own expert emergency teams for deployment overseas to crisis hotspots, including with new medical equipment

皇冠体育app government has also confirmed today that over 30 million vaccines have been delivered so far as part of the UK鈥檚 pledge to donate 100 million doses to the world, benefitting more than 30 countries.

Foreign Secretary Liz Truss said:

皇冠体育app UK is providing vital assistance to help tackle the spread of new variants around the world. This is key to securing our freedom and ending this pandemic once and for all.

I am proud that we have also delivered over 30 million vaccines to benefit our friends around the world this year. 皇冠体育app UK is helping other countries most in need. No one is safe until everyone is safe.

Doses donated by the UK have reached four continents and provided vital protection from COVID-19 in countries including Angola, Cambodia, the Democratic Republic of Congo, Ethiopia, Ghana, Indonesia, Malawi, Nepal, and Rwanda.

Of the more than 30 million doses now donated, 24.6 million have been received by COVAX for delivery to countries and 5.5 million have been shared directly with countries in need including Kenya, Jamaica, and Indonesia.

Millions more vaccines will be sent to other countries in 2022, including 20 million Oxford-AstraZeneca doses and 20 million Janssen doses.

皇冠体育app UK has been at the forefront of the global response to COVID-19. Today鈥檚 announcement builds on the 拢1.3 billion in UK aid committed to the international health response early on in the pandemic, supporting vaccines, health systems and economic recovery in developing countries.

皇冠体育app Government also invested more than 拢88 million to support the development of the Oxford-AstraZeneca vaccine, and the UK became the first country in the world to approve the jab a year ago today.

Thanks to AstraZeneca鈥檚 commitment distribute the vaccine on a non-profit basis, 2.5 billion doses have been used in more than 170 countries, two thirds of which are low- and middle-income countries.

Health and Social Care Secretary Sajid Javid said:

皇冠体育app global pandemic has challenged health systems around the world and the best way to overcome this awful disease is to unite and stand side by side with our international partners.

By supporting countries with the UK鈥檚 ground breaking science and research into the spread of variants, improving access to oxygen and scaling up testing we will help those most in need chart their course out of the pandemic.

I am proud that we have already delivered over 30 million vaccines to our friends abroad. 皇冠体育app UK, as a global leader, is helping other countries most in need. No one is safe until everyone is safe.

Dr Seth Berkley, Chief Executive Officer of Gavi, the Vaccine Alliance, said:

We welcome the UK鈥檚 commitment in new funding to protect the most vulnerable, particularly in Africa; the UK鈥檚 continued focus on COVAX and equitable global access to COVID-19 vaccines, both through early financing commitments made at the United Nations General Assembly 2020, as well as meeting the Prime Minister鈥檚 G7 commitment to dose sharing 鈥� the 30 million target set by the end of 2021.

We look forward to operationalising the remainder of the UK鈥檚 dose sharing commitment via COVAX in 2022, while we also work with the UK Government on continuing to support Gavi鈥檚 ambitious 2021 to 2025 routine vaccination programmes, of which the United Kingdom is the largest funder through the Prime Minister鈥檚 commitment made at the UK-hosted Global Vaccine Summit in June 2020.

Background

• the UK will fund testing and oxygen supplies through the COVID-19 response mechanism C19RM, established by the Global Fund to Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria. This is a proven, rapid, and highly effective approach designed to respond to the needs of countries and communities in low- and middle-income countries
• the UK continues to offer our world-leading expertise to help identify new COVID-19 variants. 皇冠体育app UK is the second largest contributor of genomic data to the global initiative mapping the spread of COVID-19, providing around a third of the total number of sequences so far uploaded
• the UK kick-started efforts to establish COVAX, pledging 拢548 million to the scheme. COVAX has so far provided 811 million doses to 144 of the world鈥檚 poorest countries
• the UK鈥檚 Health Security Agency continues to help countries effectively identify, assess, and track new SARS-CoV-2 variants among their population through the New Variant Assessment Platform (NVAP)
• planning for future pandemics is crucial and that is why the UK will host a replenishment conference in March 2022 to support the Coalition for Epidemic Preparedness Innovations (CEPI) to raise funds for vaccine research and development. CEPI aim to cut the time it takes to develop a vaccine to 100 days which could avert future pandemics, save millions of lives, and avoid trillions of pounds of economic damage
• the UK donates vaccines through COVAX as well as directly to countries. So far, doses donated by the UK have arrived in Angola, Antiqua and Barbuda, Bangladesh, Belize, Cambodia, the Democratic Republic of Congo, Dominica, Egypt, Ethiopia, Ghana, Grenada, Guyana, Indonesia, Jamaica, Kenya, Laos, Malawi, Malaysia, Nepal, Niger, Nigeria, Pakistan, the Philippines, Rwanda, Saint Vincent & Grenadines, Senegal, Thailand, Uganda, Vietnam, and Zambia
• the UK continues to proactively manage our vaccine supply and does not hold a stockpile of coronavirus vaccines. All procured, regulated doses are either used rapidly by our domestic programme or shared internationally with countries in need, meaning the domestic booster rollout is not impacted by donations