History

The lack of equitable access to medical countermeasures, including vaccines, during COVID-19 pandemic underscores the need for strategic autonomy and self-reliance in all regions of the world, including ASEAN countries. 

World Bank, International Finance Corporation (IFC) teams, and ASEAN Security and Self Reliance (AVSSR) organized a Regional Vaccine Security Consultative Workshop in November 2022 in Bali, Indonesia. The workshop was co-hosted by the Ministry of Health Republic of Indonesia and ASEAN Secretariat and succeeded in gathering about 150 key players representing the highest levels of ASEAN region governments, including senior policy makers and program managers from eight ASEAN countries, as well as more than 50 ASEAN-based or ASEAN-affiliated private companies. 

The workshop was a unique opportunity for the ASEAN region to bring together critical public and private sector players to discuss ASEAN vaccine security, to share preliminary findings of the regional situation analysis and also to get feedback on the key findings that emerged from the study.

This study recommends some strategic priorities for the ASEAN countries in order to build a secure and sustainable vaccine ecosystem in the region, namely invest in human capital, optimize supply chain, balance public-private partnerships including build strategic partnership, develop a framework for technology transfer and intellectual property protection, and align regulatory requirements for approval of clinical trials, marketing authorizations, tariff barriers, and procurement.

The keypoint to deliver those recommendations is networking among all stakeholders. Therefore, the Ministry of Health Republic of Indonesia established a new initiative called VOLARE that will connect all stakeholders in Indonesia. This initiative was officially launched by the Minister of Health, Mr. Budi G Sadikin, on January 26, 2024.