Australia says it is sending 10,000 Covid-19 vaccine doses to Fiji this week, and double that amount to Timor-Leste.
Fiji has reportedly run out of vaccine doses, at a time when its health authorities are scrambling to contain community transmission of the coronavirus.
The country has already used 50,000 AstraZeneca doses for its national vaccination programme.
Doses of AstraZeneca-developed Covid-19 vaccines sent by Australia to Papua New Guinea. Photo: Australian High Commission in PNG
Another 10,000 doses will be delivered by Australia to its partners in Fiji this week via the Covax facility, according to a joint statement from Greg Hunt, Australian Minister for Health and Aged Care and Zed Seselja, Minister for International Development and the Pacific.
"Australia will procure vaccine stocks, under a partnership agreement with UNICEF, of up to 6 million Covid-19 doses for the Pacific and Timor-Leste in 2021.
"This commitment is in addition to Australia's $80 million (US$61 million) contribution to the multilateral COVAX Facility's Advance Market Commitment for developing countries.
"More than 275,000 COVID-19 vaccine doses have already been delivered by COVAX to Timor-Leste, Papua New Guinea, Solomon Islands, Fiji, Tonga, Samoa, Tuvalu and Nauru."
Australia is also providing 20,000 Covid-19 vaccine doses from its national stocks to Timor-Leste.
It is also sending medical supplies to support Timor-Leste's response to its Covid-19 outbreak which worsened after devastating floods last month.
Australia's government says this builds on more than 56 tonnes of humanitarian, medical and PPE supplies delivered to Timor-Leste last month.
Six Australian Medical Assistance Team specialists are currently in Dili working to support local health authorities in their Covid response.
