Lisa Nandy – 2021 Comments on Covid-19 in India

The comments made by Lisa Nandy, the Foreign Secretary, on 26 April 2021.

Defeating this virus anywhere means defeating it everywhere. We have seen how quickly COVID-19 variants that have been identified in one country are able to spread rapidly across the globe.

The UK can offer expertise and capacity in crucial areas like genome sequencing and epidemiology that have already proven vital in mapping and restricting the spread of coronavirus. It is vital, not only for protecting the lives of millions in the subcontinent, but also in limiting the spread of potentially vaccine-resilient variants to our own shores.

This pandemic has been a stark reminder of the importance of global collaboration. Now is not the moment for the UK to step back from our international obligations, but to step forward and show real leadership.