Vaccine Makers Ask for Increased Budgetary Allocation

The Vaccine Manufacturers Association (VMA) has asked the government to increase budgetary allocation for vaccines. The association, which consists of five major vaccine manufacturers, said the country was lagging behind in achieving immunization goals. It added that India had introduced just 5 vaccines from 1975-2010 and met 52% of immunization goals, where Africa had already achieved 90% of the goals.

"The government has allocated only Rs 500 crore to the vaccines and immunization sector from the Rs 25,000- crore healthcare budget, whereas in Pakistan the spending is Rs800 crore and in China it is Rs 9,000 crore. The government should increase the allocation to 10 per cent," said Krishna Ella, chairman and managing director, Bharat Biotech, and president of VMA .

Pointing out that just 0.9 per cent of India’s total GDP is spent on vaccination, he added that the country needed a strategy to accommodate the vaccination needs of the population.


Source-Medindia