LONDON - Today, Monday 1 March, people in the Ivory Coast will receive the first Covid-19 vaccines through COVAX. To date the UK has committed £548 million to COVAX to ensure global access to vaccines, and has consistently called other donors to step up their support. The vaccines are the first of more than a billion doses going to developing countries this year through COVAX.

Foreign Secretary Dominic Raab said:

“Today, with UK aid support, people in Côte d'Ivoire are the first to receive vaccinations through COVAX - the biggest ever global vaccine campaign to end the pandemic.

“We’re proud to be one of the biggest donors to COVAX, securing over one billion doses for the most vulnerable around the world. We do it because we want to be a force for good in the world, and because we need a global solution to a global pandemic.”

This follows the news last week of the unanimous agreement of UN Security Council Resolution 2565 for ceasefires in conflict zones to allow the delivery of vaccines to some of the world’s most vulnerable people. The UK called for this resolution as Chair of the UN Security Council last month. The resolution was co-sponsored by 112 countries, including all 15 members of the Security Council.