By Mahima Devkota/ Bishnu Pandey, Kathmandu, July 22:  Nepal has become the first country in the Asia Pacific region to provide COVID-19 vaccines to the refugees through its national vaccination rollout.

According to Dr. Taranath Pokhrel, director of the Family Welfare Division, officially, Nepal is the first country in the Asia Pacific region to provide COVID-19 vaccine to refugees.

Nepal aims to provide COVID-19 jabs to 25,000 refugee people. Refugees from different countries sheltering in Kathmandu have received Johnson & Johnson COVID-19 vaccine.

The overall report will be published as soon as refugees in Jhapa and Pokhara receive their COVID-19 jabs, Dr. Pokhre informed The TRN Online.

Refugees living in Nepal had got their jab of Covishiled vaccine when the first phase of vaccination campaign was started in March, from 7 through 23 of that month.

According to the report of UNHCR, as many as 668 refugees above the age of 65 had received vaccination against the virus during the nationwide vaccination campaign held on 7-23 March.

Nepal hosts nearly 20,000 refugees, mostly Tibetans and Bhutanese, with their arrival dates in 1959 and in the early 1990s respectively.