UK pledges £160 million to boost global vaccine development
February 24, 2022, 6:10 pm

UK pledges £160 million to boost global vaccine development

AstraZeneca vaccine-COVID vaccination/Pixabay

The Asharq Al-Awsat reported, Britain on Thursday pledged an extra £160 million to boost global vaccine development, with the aim of being able to produce a global shot within 100 days of any future pandemic.

AFP said that the money will be on top of the £276 million ($374 million, 330 million euros) that Britain has already given to the Coalition for Epidemic Preparedness Innovations (CEPI), a global partnership launched in 2017 to develop vaccines to stop future outbreaks.

British health minister Sajid Javid said: "This pandemic is a global challenge and it has shown the best way to chart a course back to freedom is by standing side by side with our international partners."

"Our £160 million pledge will support CEPI's vital work to cut vaccine development to 100 days and protect us all against future health threats".

Coronavirus-COVID-19-Face mask (File photo: Pixabay)

The announcement came ahead of the Global Pandemic Preparedness Summit in London on March 7 and 8, which will be attended by leading global politicians, WHO chief Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus and Anthony Fauci, chief medical advisor to US President Joe Biden.

The event aims to raise funds for CEPI's goal to develop "variant-proof" vaccines that will work against multiple future Covid-19 strains.

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Western nations have faced criticism over the lack of availability of vaccines in poorer and developing nations during the coronavirus pandemic, with former prime minister Gordon Brown accusing leaders of "unforgivable moral failure".

Source: aawsat

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Upon arriving to participate in the summit of the European Political Community, which includes around forty heads of state in Budapest, he said, "I look forward to sitting with the elected U.S. president and seeing how we will collectively ensure we meet challenges, including the threats from Russia and North Korea." He also noted that the strengthening of ties between Russia and North Korea poses a threat to the United States as well, according to reports from Agence France-Presse.

Before Trump's victory, Rutte expressed confidence that a united Washington would remain part of the defensive alliance, even if Trump became the 47th president of the United States. In an interview with German public broadcaster ZDF last Monday night, he stated that both Republicans and Democrats understand that NATO serves not only the security of Europe but also that of America. He added that both candidates are aware that the security of the United States is closely tied to NATO.

On Wednesday, NATO congratulated Trump on his victory but did not address the Ukrainian issue.

It is noteworthy that the relationship between the elected U.S. president and the defense alliance was not the best during his first term in the White House. Trump criticized NATO member states multiple times and even hinted at withdrawing from the alliance unless they increased their financial contributions.

Additionally, the issue of the Russian-Ukrainian war is one of the matters that complicate relations between the two sides, especially since Trump has repeatedly stated that he can end this ongoing conflict, which began in 2022, quickly. He implied that he had a peace plan between Kyiv and Moscow, while his vice president, JD Vance, revealed aspects of that plan, which stipulated Ukraine's commitment not to join NATO, thereby sending reassuring signals to the Russians.

Furthermore, many NATO member states in Europe fear that Trump might halt military aid to Ukraine after he previously criticized the U.S. for pouring funds into supporting Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky.