Responding to calls for a fair distribution of bird flu vaccines, the World Health Organization (WHO) is going to create a global stockpile of vaccines for developing countries.
The global vaccine reserve would be of great importance in the fight against avian influenza, WHO director general Margaret Chan was quoted as saying by The Jakarta Post Thursday.Chan met President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono Wednesday to discuss global vaccine production, which partly depends on virus sample supply from Indonesia.
"We will look at how to develop global stockpiles of vaccines, particularly for developing countries," she said.
Chan said the WHO would gather resources from rich countries, donors as well as large drug makers to make the plan work.
She emphasized that the global fight against bird flu required the full cooperation of developing countries, an obligation that will be enshrined in a new global regulation.
"The sharing of information on the virus is a requirement for all countries under an international health regulation which will come into effect June 15."
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