The DCVMN CEO, Rajinder Suri, and DCVMN Board were invited by the World Federation of Public Health Associations to participate in the session of the World Leadership Dialogue “Equitable Access to Vaccines: Contributions from the Global South”, during the 17th World Congress on Public Health (WCPH). The event was held in Rome, Italy, from May 2nd to 6th.
The theme of the congress was “A world in turmoil: opportunities to focus on public health” and the aim was to highlight the commitment to work together across all sectors to promote health equity and build a more sustainable and just future. During their session the panelists discussed the challenges of developing, producing and distributing vaccines by public health-driven manufacturers based in the Global South.
They highlighted that the producers in the DCVMN network have contributed to more than 60% of Covid-19 vaccines during the pandemic. Furthermore, they discussed that to respond to future health emergencies, it is necessary to invest heavily in R&D and infrastructure and establish technology transfers to build local competencies, together with accelerating product availability, relying on highly qualified professionals at all stages of development and manufacturing.
