KUALA LUMPUR, April 15 (Bernama) -- Datuk Seri Abdullah Ahmad Badawi Friday stressed the need for the Organisation of the Islamic Conference (OIC) member countries to be self-sufficient in vaccine production to ensure adequate supply and better development of halal vaccines for the ummah.
The prime minister said there was a risk of vaccine production becoming marginalised as more and more pharmaceutical companies chased higher profits in manufacturing other products such as "blockbuster drugs."
"Given the decline of the vaccine production in the western countries, it is vital that we in the developing world build our self-sufficiency in this area.
"In this way, we can ensure not only adequate supplies but also better development of halal vaccines. We can also ensure that vaccine development for diseases prevalent in our respective regions, such as malaria, will receive the attention that it deserves," he said when opening a four-day international convention on self-reliance on vaccine production in the Islamic world.
The convention was jointly organised by the Health Ministry and Islamic Development Bank.
Abdullah said the Malaysian government was currently embarking on a project for national self-sufficiency in vaccine production to ensure an adequate supply of safe and effective vaccines for the population.
As part of the project, the Malaysian National Institute for Natural Products, Vaccines and Biologicals was being established to act as the focal point for research and development in vaccine productions for the country.
"It is our aspiration that Malaysia will be self-reliant in vaccine production in the very near future and in doing so, be able to share our knowledge and expertise in halal vaccines with the Muslim world," he said.
He said the OIC members must recognise the urgent need to enhance cooperation among themselves, especially to bridge the deficit of global vaccine supply for use within OIC countries.
Abdullah said it was a fact that infants and children who live in Islamic nations faced a higher risk of catching epidemic and endemic infectious diseases, one of the leading causes of high mortality rate.
He said that according to the United Nation's Population Record 2004, seven of the 10 nations with the highest infant mortality rates were OIC members.
Some African and central Asian nations showed infant mortality rates exceeding 100 per 1,000 life births, he added.
"It is a tragedy to allow millions of our member nations' infants and children to die of such preventable causes. There are many reasons that contribute to this state of affairs, but perhaps the most important is the deprivation of childhood vaccination," he said.
Abdullah said that while it was important to promote the economic development of OIC member nations, it was just as important, if not more, to attend to the most basic of concerns, such as health and sanitation.
Indeed, to make economic and political change sustainable, measures to enhance livelihood must be accompanied by measures to sustain life, he said.
-- BERNAMA
M'sia to produce 'halal' vaccines for Muslim world
Malaysiakini
Apr 15, 05 12:06pm
Malaysia plans to begin manufacturing "halal" vaccines for the Muslim world in the next two to three years to help bridge a serious supply deficit and mitigate possible effects of bioterrorism, ministers said today.
Health Minister Chua Soi Lek said a National Institute for Natural Products, Vaccines and Biologicals had been established to ensure adequate supply of basic childhood vaccines, and conduct research and development on vaccines for diseases prevalent in Southeast Asia such as dengue and Japanese encephalitis.
He said the institute would also play a key role to "mitigate effects of bioterrorism by having capability to scale up any seed vaccine from other sources in terms of emergencies such as smallpox or anthrax vaccines."
"It is our aspiration that Malaysia will be self reliant in vaccine production in the near future and in doing so, also be the halal hub for vaccine production for the Muslim world," he said in a statement at a conference here on vaccine production in the Islamic world.
There are no vaccines currently forbidden for Muslims on religious grounds but officials say there are concerns that some vaccines could be made from parts of the pig, which is considered unclean in Islam.
Chua said Malaysia previously produced its own vaccines but halted it in 1990 after 24 years. He said the government hoped to revive manufacturing within "two to three years" after conducting a feasibility study.
Serious deficiency
Prime Minister Abdullah Ahmad Badawi told the conference that there was a serious deficiency of basic childhood vaccines in the 57-member Organisation of Islamic Conference (OIC) nations due to a funding gap for immunisation and weak access to global supply.
He said according to the United Nations, seven of the top 10 nations in the world with the highest infant mortality rates were OIC members, with some African and central Asian nations recording more than 100 deaths for every 1,000 births.
He said the pharmaceutical industry's focus on profits had also led to a global major shortage of vaccines for ailments prevalent in Islamic nations such as measles, malaria and respiratory infections.
Abdullah, who is currently OIC chairman, called for deeper collaboration among OIC countries to work towards self-reliance in vaccine production.
"Given the decline of vaccine production in the Western countries, it is vital that we in the developing world build our self sufficiency in this area. In this way, we can ensure not only adequate supply but also better development of halal vaccines," he added.
THis is new to me, that we were producing vaccine till 1990! According to an NST report, Malaysia has had 24 years experience in vaccine production. Excerpts from that report ::
Malaysia has 24 years of experience in producing several types of vaccines through the Vaccine Producing Unit (VPU) of the Health Ministry.
Among the vaccines produced by VPU were for Smallpox, Rabies, Cholera, Typhoid/Parathphoid, Tuberculin injections and Antivenoms against the Malaysian pit viper.
However, the VPU was closed in October 1990 following a recommendation from a foreign consultant. Vaccine supplies for Malaysia have come entirely from foreign manufacturers since then.
Now after an absence of 15 years, can the MOH get back into action to reactivate its vaccine production abilities? Another question that needs an answer, why did we shut down the VPU in the first instance?
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