4. Statement by the Minister for Social Justice: Wales and Africa

Part of the debate – in the Senedd at 4:04 pm on 9 November 2021.

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Photo of Jane Hutt Jane Hutt Labour 4:04, 9 November 2021

Diolch yn fawr, Heledd Fychan. I'm very grateful for your support for my statement today. You started by raising the issue about access to vaccines. I will repeat again what I said in terms of vaccination rates in sub-Saharan Africa averaging only 6 per cent. And the point that we all make is that none of us is safe until all of us are safe, and we are global citizens and we have those responsibilities. It's a huge obstacle to stopping the world emerging from the pandemic. Yes, the First Minister has written and has urged the UK Government to accelerate the supply of vaccines to the developing world. He's written to the former Foreign Secretary, and has written to the new Foreign Secretary as well, to ensure that we get our voice heard clearly at the UK Government. And I've made that call again—and I'm quoting the People's Vaccine Alliance—because we are throwing away vaccines. We can't send the vaccines abroad ourselves, but we can help in terms of reaching out and saying, 'Well, what is it?' And I've already described many ways in which we're supporting our partners in Africa.