Recommendation 4

HM Government Acknowledged

We are committed to the OECD Development Assistance Committee (DAC) rules and our ODA is allocated in accordance with current ODA eligibility Directives. The DAC ODA rules are clear that R&D investments which primarily aim to address problems faced by developing countries, and promote their welfare and economic development, qualify as ODA. Our funding meets this primary objective by ensuring the development of VTD’s that are designed to be used in the developing world, and by ensuring the poorest countries have quick and fair access to them. The needs of low and middle-income countries must be considered at the outset of R&D investment. Moving ODA funding away from COVID-19 R&D risks underfunding R&D into VTD’s that are suitable for and accessible to developing countries. We disagree with the IDC’s view that ODA funding should be switched away from Research and Development (R&D) for COVID-19 VTD’s. Alongside our efforts to tackle the indirect impacts, the development of new technologies (and ensuring access to them) is a critical part of the global response. The UK is committed to ensuring rapid and equitable access to safe and effective VTDs in low- and middle-income countries and has committed an additional ODA contribution of up to £829 million to this. This includes ensuring that new VTD’s are appropriate for low resource settings that have limited health services and infrastructure (such as inconsistent electricity supply). Our investments to support equitable access to safe and effective VTDs in low- and middle-income countries include a new ODA contribution of up to £500 million for the COVAX AMC. This is in addition to our existing contribution of £48 million. Through this funding, we are contributing to the supply of 1 billion doses of a COVID-19 vaccine for developing countries in 2021 and the vaccination of up to 500 million people. As with our broader support for Gavi immunisation, this will specifically target ODA-eligible Fifth Special Report of Session 2019–21 7 low- and middle-income countries, enabling them to access safe and effective vaccines to control the pandemic, reducing both the direct and indirect impacts and supporting economic recovery. Our R&D investments support organisations such as the Coalition for Epidemic Preparedness Innovations (CEPI), FIND and the COVID-19 Therapeutics Accelerator. Their core focus is on developing technologies that can be deployed in poorer countries. CEPI is working to select and then invest in a variety of vaccine candidates, based on speed, scale and access in developing countries. This investment is conditional on each candidate’s commitment to provide supply to the COVAX AMC. not miss out in the global race for a vaccine. The linkage between CEPI’s vaccine portfolio and the COVAX AMC creates an end-to-end approach to product development and delivery, benefitting those in greatest need. Similarly, our investments in diagnostics and treatment research aim to ensure that easy- to-use, effective diagnostic tests are available to detect and trace outbreaks, and that effective drugs are quickly developed for COVID-19 in low- and middle-income countries. The UK is committed to tackling the direct and indirect impacts of the pandemic in the developing world. We have pledged up to £1.65 billion to Gavi to support routine immunisation, including reprogramming health systems strengthening grants for PPE and infection, prevention and control that are vital to keep essential services accessible. The previously referred to £340 million new core contribution to the WHO over the next four years is a significant uplift in UK support, and will help to strengthen the WHO and support their work to strengthen health systems in vulnerable countries. On top of our support to the multilaterals, we have worked through our bilateral country programmes to tackle the indirect health impacts of COVID-19. For example, in Nepal, our health sector programme supported the health system to keep open 36 crisis management centres and establish another 14 providing services to women during lockdown. It also helped to keep open 87 emergency obstetric centres so that women could give birth safely and provide almost 280,000 women with transport costs. In Ethiopia, the UK has worked with the Ministry of Health and other donors to protect funding for essential basic health services. Ethiopia was the first country in Africa safely to deliver a supplementary measles campaign during COVID-19, immunising over 14 million children. The indirect impacts of COVID-19 go beyond health into the economic and other sectors. We have been concerned by the impact on education, especially for girls, who are at greater risk of not being able to return to school. Our education support has included £20 million to UNICEF in support of its global COVID-19 appeal, £5 million for Education Cannot Wait to support rapid deployment of education services in crises and emergencies, and £5.3 million to UNHCR for over