You noted in your statement, Minister, that the First Minister has urged the UK Government to accelerate the supply of vaccines to the developing world. Are you able to advise what response the First Minister has received to this request and, in addition to making the call today, if you yourself have also written or will be writing to the UK Government on this matter? You would have our full support on this.

Of course, as you mentioned as well, the international aid cut by the UK Government, leading to the lowest it's been for nine years, with the cut to foreign aid spending totalling around £4 billion. This cut is not set to be reversed until 2024-25 at the earliest, and the impact will not only be felt in terms of the COVID response and recovery, but also, as you rightly outline, the detrimental impact on health in all sorts of different ways. To add to your examples, the World Health Organization’s global polio eradication initiative will lose essentially all of its UK funding, from £110 million to £5 million. Similarly, WaterAid have voiced concerns that this cut will mean at least three more years of dirty water and infant mortalities in vulnerable communities. UNICEF is also set to see its UK funding cut by 60 per cent. So, therefore, whilst we hope that the UK Government will change its mind, will the Welsh Government use the Wales and Africa programme to try and rectify the impact of these harsh aid cuts imposed by the UK Government and, if so, how?

And of course, this cut will also impact negatively on how these countries will be able to respond to the climate and nature emergency—something that you also referenced, Minister, as being absolutely essential in your statement—and it was good to hear that Welsh Government has been utilising opportunities created by COP26 to promote Wales as a globally responsible nation. Obviously, this was noted as an action as part of the Wales and Africa action plan, which also stated that COP26 would be an opportunity to forge new partnerships. I’d be interested to know what progress has been made by Welsh Government in realising these objectives so far. Obviously, COP26 is ongoing, so I would be grateful in the future for an update as well.

One of the key factors driving the global climate change and nature emergency, as we know, is deforestation and habitat loss. According to the recently published WWF Cymru, Size of Wales and RSPB Cymru study, 'Wales and Global Responsibility' report, an area equivalent to 40 per cent of the size of Wales is used overseas to grow commodities imported into Wales. For example, the average land required each year to produce Wales's demand for cocoa alone is equivalent to the size of Wrexham county or double the land area of Bridgend. Wales imports the majority of its cocoa from west African countries, where there are high risks of deforestation and social issues, while 55 per cent of cocoa import land falls in countries that are high or very high risk for deforestation and social issues. Also, the greenhouse gas emissions from the production of cocoa for Welsh imports totals about 68,800 tonnes of carbon dioxide each year. Does the Welsh Government have any plans to expand initiatives such as Coffee 2020 and Fair Do's/Siopa Teg to tackle deforestation and social issues associated with Wales's imports? And will the Welsh Government strengthen their economic contract and procurement policies to ensure that supply chains are free of deforestation and social exploitation?

As you stated, Minister, global extreme poverty went up in 2020, and if we are to be a truly globally responsible nation then we need action from all Governments, not just warm words. The future of our planet demands this from us.