WHO lauds India for regulatory authority for vaccines

In a message to a meeting of Health Ministers from Brazil, India, China and South africa (BRICS), WHO Director General Margaret Chan congratulated Health Minister Ghulam Nabi Azad on India's recent success.

Chan said WHO requirements are stringent and the assessment of national regulatory capacity is rigorous.

"This success provides yet another example of how BRICS countries, in their drive to achieve domestic excellence, are contributing to better health throughout the developing world," she said.

Chan said BRICS countries occupy a unique and inspiring place in the international health community and offer an alternative model for health development, where partners are not givers and takers, haves and have-nots, but true fellow- travellers.

"BRICS countries are the champions of fairness, whether in trade agreements or in the prices of medicines," she said.

Not so long ago, she said, BRICS countries faced the same problems shared by most of the developing world today i.E. huge health needs among huge populations at a time when budgets are shrinking and costs are soaring.

Chan said BRICS countries have experienced a string of victories and the leadership coming from these countries resonate well with the developing world.

"These countries are leading the way in providing universal healthcare to populations. This is comprehensive and affordable care. The solutions are home-grown and different in each country, but the goal is the same: fairness and social justice," she said.

The WHO DG said BRICS countries have world-class researchers and academic institutions and these assets are contributing to drug discovery and development, especially for the neglected diseases that mainly affect the developing world.

Chan said BRICS countries have tremendous manufacturing capacity and have become the principal source of generic medicines and several public health vaccines on the global market. "BRICS countries have changed the dynamics of this market, getting prices down and improving the reliability of supplies," she said.