Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:

To ask Her Majesty's Government how many doses of COVID-19 vaccines they intend to provide to the government of Pakistan; in providing any such vaccines, what account they will take of reports of inequalities affecting minority communities in that country; and what action the UK High Commissioner to Pakistan will take to ensure the fair operation of the COVAX initiative.

The UK is supporting the equitable rollout of vaccines in Pakistan and around the world through COVAX, an international alliance co-led by the Vaccine Alliance (Gavi), the Coalition for Epidemic Preparedness Innovations (CEPI), and World Health Organization. We are one of the world's largest donors to COVAX, contributing £548 million to date. Decisions about the global rollout of the vaccine are for COVAX, which is committed to prioritising distribution where it will have most impact. We understand that COVAX plans to provide around 90 million vaccine doses to Pakistan. The Government of Pakistan is finalising its vaccination roll out plan for refugees in close consultation with UNHCR and other stakeholders. We are in close contact with the Pakistani authorities to support this effort.

The UK is providing an additional £4.67 million through the World Health Organisation to support Pakistan's COVID-19 Preparedness and Response plan. This will help provide medical assistance to the seriously ill, infection prevention and control, and increased testing capacity. We will continue to ensure that our programme of COVID-19 assistance to Pakistan helps those at risk and reaches the most vulnerable, including minority communities.