UK commits K1.4 tn to Covid-19 response

 The United Kingdom (UK) has committed K1.4 trillion (about 1.3 billion pounds) to support the global response in the fight against the Covid-19 pandemic, especially in emerging economies.

In a statement yesterday, the UK Government also pledged its commitment to work with its various partners from emerging economies.

Reads the statement in part: “The UK Government has reaffirmed its commitment to working with partners in emerging economies, especially in Africa, to achieve a green, inclusive and sustainable recovery from Covid-19, which also includes urgent and equitable access to vaccines, therapeutics, and diagnostics.”

According to the statement, countries in the G7 (UK, United States, Canada, France, Germany, Italy and Japan) convened a virtual global summit on Wednesday which brought together experts in both the public and public sector to drive vaccine uptake.

Among others, the summit explored innovative solutions to tackle misinformation and support confidence in life-saving Covid-19 vaccines around the world.

The statement said the summit addressed key issues including the vaccine uptake and the role that insight and behavioural science can play in addressing the threat of health misinformation and how global collaboration can deliver trustworthy communications.

Reads the statement: “At the summit, it was acknowledged that levels of vaccine confidence, accessibility and availability are needed globally in order to end the pandemic, and that one of the biggest threats to confidence in vaccines is misinformation, which can damage public perceptions of vaccine safety and efficacy.”

UK’s Minister for Africa James Duddridge is quoted in the statement as having described the summit as important for the international community to build trust in stringently-regulated vaccines, stressing that it is key to global recovery.

He said: “No one is safe until we are all safe. As we look to strengthen our response to the global pandemic, now is the time to boost vaccine confidence around the world.

“We continue to work with our partner governments in Africa, civil society, and the private sector including social media companies to tackle misinformation as it continues to pose one of the biggest threats to a global recovery from the pandemic.”

The summit brought together experts such as Dr Anthony Fauci, director of the United States National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases and chief medical adviser to United States President and Dr John Nkengasong, first director for the Centres for Disease Control (CDC), Africa.