Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:

To ask Her Majesty's Government why Pakistan is the largest recipient of bilateral country specific official development assistance.

Helping to ensure a prosperous and stable Pakistan is critical for the future of millions of Pakistanis, and the stability and security of the region as well as the UK.

Pakistan remains significantly off track to attain many of the Sustainable Development Goals. Over a third of Pakistan's population (over 80 million people) lives in poverty. One in fourteen children dies before their fifth birthday, and 8,300 women die in childbirth every year. Food insecurity has increased over time, with four in ten children under five chronically undernourished (stunted) and 2% acutely malnourished (wasted). Pakistan ranks 5th on the list of 10 countries most vulnerable to natural disasters with more than 130 million people at risk. Across Pakistan, there are currently 6.7 million people in need of humanitarian assistance. Since 2011, UK aid has benefited more than 10 million children in primary school education, reached over 1.7 million new family planning users and prevented 4,900 maternal deaths, over 3.49 million unwanted pregnancies, and 490,000 unsafe abortions.

Future assistance for Pakistan in 2021 and beyond will be reviewed against the priorities set out by the Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Secretary in his statement to the House of Commons on 25 November 2020.