OIC Vaccine Manufacturers Group agrees on action plan

The OIC Vaccine Manufacturers Group has agreed on the urgent compilation of reliable data and credible information on the vaccine needs of the OIC region, requesting the Statistical, Economic and Social Research and Training Centre for Islamic Countries, SESRIC, to undertake a technical and economic feasibility study of production and supply of vaccines in particular to cover gaps in the supply of vital vaccines.
This came during the first meeting of the group which was held recently at the OIC General-Secretariat in Jeddah, which was attended by vaccine manufacturers from OIC member states, including representatives of the OIC General-Secretariat, the Standing Committee for Scientific and Technological Cooperation (COMSTECH), SESRIC, the Islamic Development Bank (IDB) and World Health Organisation (WHO).
The meeting took place in the wake of the decision of the 4th Islamic Conference of Health Ministers (ICHM), held in October 2013, which endorsed the establishment of the group with a view to achieving self-reliance in the production and supply of essential vaccines and medicines in OIC member states.
The group reiterated the need to continue sharing of experiences, R&D collaboration, transfer of technology and capacity building to achieve the vision of self reliance in vaccine production and supply. A number of capacity-building and experience-sharing events and workshops were agreed upon for the short-term.
The next meeting of the group will be held in Tunisia in the first quarter of 2015, to be followed by a training workshop on quality management of vaccine production, scheduled to be held in Tehran in the third quarter of 2015.