Today, Indonesia and DCVMN had the honour of co-organising the official WHA79 side event “Advancing Local Production for Equitable Access, Resilient Health Systems, and Global Health Security” centered around a single question: how do we make local and regional production a true pillar of equitable access, resilience, and pandemic preparedness and the answer that emerged was consistent.
Local production cannot be an afterthought,it must be embedded into national and regional strategies, supported by sustained government investment, underpinned by the right business environment for manufacturers to flourish. Resilience starts upstream: the supply chains of raw materials matter as much as those of finished products. Geographic diversification of production is not an option but a strategic need for pandemic preparedness. And none of this is possible without five connecting threads: regulatory convergence across regions to enable market entry, pooled procurement and shared demand forecasting; collaboration and knowledge sharing through technology transfer and joint research; skilled workforce development, and a continued investment in public trust.
Harditya Suryawanto opened the side event an invited H.E. Budi G. Sadikin, Minister of Health of the Republic of Indonesia to give welcome remarks, and pre-announced the 4th World Local Production Forum 2027 in Bali followed by H.E. Sidharto Suryodipuro, Ambassador of the Republic of Indonesia in Geneva, and by Dr. Yukiko Nakatani, Assistant DG of World Health Organization.
These messages were brought to life through powerful, first-hand experiences. The high-level interventions from H.E. Budi G. Sadikin, H.E. Sophie Hermans, Minister of Health of the Netherlands, Professor Moji Christianah Adeyeye, DG of NAFDAC, Nigeria, Dr. Aquina Thulare, Technical Advisor Ministry of Health of South Africa, and Mr. Igor Ferreira Bueno, Director of DECIS, Ministry of Health of Brazil, moderated by Dr. Jicui Dong, Head – WLPF Secretariat, offered evidence-based testimonies of how countries have translated the lessons of the pandemic into national action plans.
Building Resilient Vaccine Ecosystems panel, moderated by Dr. Richard Hatchett, CEO – CEPI, built on this momentum with Dr. Sania Nishtar, CEO – Gavi, Dr. Mariatou Tala Jallow, Director APPM (standing in for H.E. Dr. Jean Kaseya, Director General, Africa CDC), Dr. Frederik Kristensen, Managing Director – RVMC, DCVMN Board Chair Ms. Iin Susanti and Deputy Chair Dr. Morena Makhoana, CEO – Biovac, who brought the voice of our member companies directly into the dialogue.
DCVMN CEO Mr. Rajinder Suri closed the event with reflections on the path ahead toward WLPF 2027 and said that WHA79 has sent a strong political signal: local production is no longer a peripheral conversation. It is central to the future of global health security and DCVMN will continue to bring the voice of its members to every conversation that helps turn that signal into action.
➡️ Watch the full recording of the event here: https://www.kemkes.go.id/eng/official-wha79-side-event-advancing-local-production-for-equitable-access-resilient-health-systems-and-global-health-security
