Jakarta - The Ministry of Health through the Directorate General of Pharmaceuticals and Medical Devices held an OIC Country Technical Meeting “Workshop on Vaccine Cold Chain Management For Organization Of Islamic Cooperation (OIC) Member Countries” on 01 to 02 October 2019 with the opening at the Ministry of Health, Jakarta and continued in Bandung. The workshop series contained materials from WHO (Dr. Vinod Bura), OIC Assistant Secretary General (HE. Amb. Askar Mussinov), Ministry of Health, BPOM, field visits to the Bandung District Health Office and PT Bio Farma, as well as experience sharing sessions and discussions through panels from representatives of OIC member countries.

This workshop is a manifestation of Indonesia's commitment as an OIC Center of Excellence on Vaccines and Biotechnology Products. Indonesia's journey as a Center of Excellence has started since 2011. After going through 2 sessions of the Organization of Islamic Cooperation (OIC) Health Ministerial Conference (MC) and various other efforts, Indonesia was finally designated as a Center of Excellence in 2017 and officially launched in 2018.

Minister of Health Nila F. Moeleok accompanied by the Assistant Secretary General of the OIC, the Ambassador of Palestine, the 1st Secretary of the Embassy of Afghanistan, the Secretary General of the Ministry of Health and the Director General of Pharmaceuticals and Health Equipment of the Ministry of Health had the opportunity to officially open the OIC Workshop on Vaccine Cold Chain Management which was attended by 45 participants consisting of: 16 delegates from 14 OIC member countries (Uganda, Gambia, Sudan, Afghanistan, Bangladesh, Somalia, Nigeria, Maldives, Brunei Darussalam, Malaysia, Turkey, Kazakhstan, Tunisia, and Morocco), 6 participants from the Provincial Health Office (South Kalimantan, Riau, North Sulawesi, Banten, East Nusa Tenggara, and West Java), 6 participants from District/City Health Offices, 7 central participants from the Indonesian Ministry of Health (Directorate General of Disease Prevention and Control, Directorate of Public Drug Governance and Health Supplies, Directorate of Pharmaceutical Services, Directorate of Pharmaceutical Production and Distribution), and 10 participants from PT. Bio Farma.

The objectives of the “Workshop on Vaccine Cold Chain Management For Organization Of Islamic Cooperation (OIC) Member Countries” are:

• To share expertise on vaccine cold chain management
• To expand the network among OIC member countries
• As a benchmark for vaccine cold chain management in OIC countries
• To improve vaccine cold chain management knowledge
• To see the vaccine distribution mechanism in Indonesia

“As one of the OIC member countries that has the capacity to produce vaccines and biotechnology products, we carry the mandate to jointly increase the capacity of fellow member countries in meeting vaccine needs and ensuring that vaccines that reach the public provide the best results for health improvement. I believe this workshop will be useful to achieve this goal,” said Minister Nila.

As part of the global community, OIC member countries face similar challenges. Currently, it is estimated that in OIC member countries, 45.6% of deaths are caused by infectious diseases. OIC countries have also had difficulty in reducing maternal and child mortality since 1990. Malnutrition is also still quite prevalent with 36% of children under the age of five being stunted and 22% being underweight according to 2010-2011 data.

Access to medicines, vaccines and other health products, including biotechnology products is recognized as one of the key parts of achieving a strong health system. However, the OIC has recognized that in general, OIC member countries are still lagging far behind in their vaccine production capacity. So to overcome this problem, the Ministers of Health of OIC Member Countries raised the issue of self-sufficiency in vaccine supply and production.

“I would like to convey that access to vaccines includes substantive efforts to maintain the best quality of vaccines to be given to patients, communities, and society. To realize this, qualified cold chain management and effective and efficient structuring of vaccine distribution and services at every point of health facilities are needed,” said the Minister of Health.
Data from Riskesdas 2018 shows that the proportion coverage of basic immunization in Indonesia in children aged 12-23 months reached 83.1% and the proportion coverage of follow-up immunization reached 57.9%. As stated in Permenkes No. 12/2017, Immunization coverage should be maintained high and evenly distributed.

The Minister of Health explained that the joint mission is to increase the coverage of this proportion of immunization in order to achieve the UCI (Universal Child Immunization) target. High coverage is certainly supported by quality immunization services and good vaccine storage and handling processes because vaccines will easily lose their potential if not stored at the appropriate temperature, so the quality of cold chain management will be directly proportional to the quality of the vaccine itself.

Indonesia is an archipelago consisting of 34 provinces and 514 regencies/cities. Therefore, cold chain management during distribution is something that needs special attention. Reliable coordination and advocacy are needed involving all levels of stakeholders.

The Ministry of Health, Provincial Health Office, Regency/City Health Office, and Puskesmas need to jointly commit to implementing quality cold chain management to minimize potential errors at various vaccine handling points.

Indonesia has implemented Cold Chain Equipment Inventories (CCEI) to obtain information on current cold chain conditions for improved immunization program management. As of 2018, cold chain equipment is available in 90% of health centers. It is expected that by 2019 all health centers in Indonesia will be using standardized and functioning cold chains.

“This effort is part of the national immunization strategy to ensure the quality and availability of immunization vaccines”, said the Minister of Health. Referring to these conditions, Indonesia is happy to share its experience in dealing with cold chain management in our immunization program. “I would like to reiterate Indonesia's commitment, that as the OIC Center of Excellence on Vaccines and Biotechnology Products, Indonesia will continue to support member states in their efforts to deal with outbreaks and high prevalence of various infectious diseases that have been eradicated elsewhere. As part of that commitment, I believe that this workshop will provide a beneficial experience for all participants, including for Indonesia”, said the Minister of Health. As the organizer of the meeting, Director General of Pharmaceuticals and Medical Devices Engko Solialine hopes that through the Workshop on Vaccine Cold Chain Management For Organization Of Islamic Cooperation (OIC) Member Countries, a good collaboration can be produced in the management of appropriate vaccines so as to ensure the quality of vaccines used by the public.