In May 2012 the 194 member-states of the World Health Assembly (WHA) endorsed the Global Vaccine Action Plan (GVAP), a framework to prevent millions of deaths by 2020 through more equitable access to existing vaccines for people in all communities.
GVAP aims to strengthen routine immunization to meet vaccination-coverage targets; accelerate control of vaccine-preventable diseases, with polio eradication as the first milestone; introduce new and improved vaccines; and spur research and development for the next generation of vaccines and technologies.
The WHA, the supreme decision-making body of the World Health Organization (WHO), is attended by delegations from all WHO member-states, including the Philippines.
Like many countries in the world that believe in immunization, the country’s health program has included a big chunk of the budget for vaccines—nearly P3 billion yearly since 2012 for the Department of Health (DOH) expanded program of immunization. This amount covers the vaccine cost to treat around eight to nine vaccine-preventable diseases.
Sanofi Pasteur in the Philippines
Sanofi Pasteur, the vaccines division of the pharmaceutical company Sanofi, has taken up an active role in spreading awareness on immunization through vaccination by forging partnerships with the government health ministries all over the world.
The largest company in the world devoted entirely to vaccines, Sanofi Pasteur was established in the Philippines in 1978.
According to Dr. Dennis Quiambao, Sanofi Pasteur Philippines’s vaccine policy and advocacy director, the company’s presence in the country is important because it is one of the country’s sources of quality vaccines for Filipinos covering different age segments in both public and private market.
“Vaccines are Sanofi Pasteur’s area of expertise. Today we are able to provide the widest range of vaccines, protecting against 20 bacterial and viral diseases, including pertussis, diphtheria, rabies, poliomyelitis, influenza, pneumonia and mumps,” he said.
Disease awareness and prevention
Quiambao said the company’s flagship initiatives in the country have always been directed to improving disease awareness and prevention. For one, Sanofi Pasteur is a partner of the DOH in the Asean Dengue Day (ADD) that aims to improve the knowledge of Filipinos as far as dengue is concerned.
Through this initiative, he said, the company supports the DOH in putting up community events and other activities that bring about understanding of the disease and how to prevent it, if not entirely eliminate it.
Another activity where Sanofi Pasteur is a partner of the department is in polio eradication.
“Globally, Sanofi Pasteur has been a partner in the Global Polio Eradication Initiative since its inception, and it is no different here in the Philippines,” he said.
Just like in the ADD, a number of community activities have been done recently in partnership with the DOH on polio awareness, with the objective of preserving the country’s polio-free status and contributing to the global goal of polio eradication.
According to Quiambao, Sanofi Pasteur has also forged other partnerships, most notable of which is the Rabies Awareness Month and World Rabies Day commemoration with the National Rabies Prevention Control Committee (NRPCC), which is composed of the DOH, WHO, Global Alliance for Rabies Control, Philippine Animal Welfare Society, Bureau of Animal Industry, Department of Education, Department of Interior and Local Government and other governmental agencies.
Quiambao is proud of the success of these initiatives. He said that, in terms of the execution of the community activities, the DOH and Sanofi Pasteur have been very successful in imparting knowledge to the Filipinos, especially in areas highly affected by these diseases. These community activities have always allowed the DOH to reach the most number of audiences to spread information and awareness, according to him.
Improving Filipinos’ access to vaccines
Aside from the DOH, Quiambao revealed that Sanofi Pasteur also has partnerships with other organizations and institutions that have the end in view of improving access to vaccines and increasing vaccines coverage rates.
One such partnership is under the International SOS Partnership Program. International SOP is a firm that provides integrated medical, clinical and security services to organizations with international operations. Their services include planning and preventive program, in-country expertise, and emergency response.
The objective of the partnership, according to Quiambao, is to create vaccination programs and assist International SOS in implementing such programs to help expand vaccination coverage within the network and accounts of International SOS, which include companies, schools and the overseas Filipino workers. He added that a similar partnership has also been done with ValuCare and Fortune Medicare, both health maintenance organization providers in the Philippines.
“Our vision is a world in which no one suffers or dies from a vaccine-preventable disease. In the Philippines, we will continue to partner with the government and other relevant stakeholders, and continue to play an active role in the immunization community to maximize vaccination,” he said.