Childcare 6: On Vaccine Self-Sufficiency Project (VSSP)

There is a new initiative by the Department of Health (DOH) through the Public-Private Partnership (PPP) to develop vaccine self-sufficiency project (VSSP). Here is the news report from BWorld:

http://www.bworldonline.com/content.php?section=Front-Page&title=Gov’t-readies-vaccine-PPP&id=49734

Posted on April 10, 2012 11:39:01 PM

Gov’t readies vaccine PPP

A MULTIMILLION-PESO domestic vaccine production project could be one of the next public-private partnership (PPP) deals to be rolled out by the government, officials yesterday said.

The P900-million Vaccine Self-Sufficiency Project (VSSP) Phase II, under the Department of Health, is up for approval today by an interagency committee after having been endorsed by a technical panel last week.

“The vaccine project is part of the agenda of the ICC Cabinet Committee meeting,” said Jonathan Uy, public investment staff director at the National Economic and Development Authority.

This followed approval by a technical panel of the Investment Coordination Committee, which evaluates major national projects and endorses it for final approval by the NEDA Board headed by the president.

PPP Center Executive Director Cosette V. Canilao said the VSSP involved the establishment of facilities for the formulation, packaging and labeling of the pentavalent -- used for diphtheria, pertussis, tetanus, hepatitis B and haemophylus influenza B; tetanus toxoid; and single dose hepatitis B vaccines.

“Private sector participation will include construction of the facilities, purchase of equipment and operation and maintenance for the next 10 years,” Ms. Canilao toldBusinessWorld.

“The invitation to prequalify to bid may be published in the second quarter, as soon as it is approved [by the NEDA Board],” she added.

In its Web site, the PPP Center said the project, which will be implemented through the Health department’s Research Institute for Tropical Medicine, is expected to reduce annual vaccine procurement costs by 20-30%.

“[The] government can save approximately P240 million to P360 million out of the P1.2-billion annual purchase cost of the vaccines,” the PPP Center said....

I think this is a good initiative by the DOH. Preventive healthcare via vaccination against common tropical diseases like diptheria, tetanus, pertussis (DTP) and hepatitis is a lot more efficient than curative healthcare. I am just wondering what is the exact role of the public sector here via the DOH, via prequalification of possible players?

This thing should better be left to the various private players in a competitive environment with the minimum intervention and bureaucracies from government agencies. What the DOH and the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) should do is to ensure bioequivalence testing of various vaccines that will be introduced in the local market by various players, to ensure that those drugs and vaccines that will be brought in are really safe and effective.

I will read more about this new initiative, but it is something that I can support -- more preventive healthcare, focus on infectious or communicable diseases, pediatric diseases. In order to have more resources for this initiative, the DOH and other government agencies should step back on subsidizing treatment of certain non-communicable diseases (NCDs) which are generally lifestyle-related.
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See also:
Childcare 2: Rotary DTP Vaccination, May 24, 2009
Childcare 3: My 2nd daughter, October 04, 2010
Childcare 4: Treatment and Vaccines for Children's Diseases, February 28, 2012
Childcare 5: The 162 to 52 Summit, April 11, 2012