What are the health needs and challenges?

The number of rubella cases has been on the rise in many countries. Rubella not only affects the health of infants—when contracted by pregnant women, it can cause risk of congenital disorders in newborns. Therefore, the World Health Organization (WHO) recommends each country to introduce rubella immunization.

Rubella incidence rates in Vietnam are high, so it is urgent there to strengthen measles-rubella combined vaccine production capacity to secure a stable supply of vaccines.

Partnership activities and how they address needs and challenges

The government of Vietnam has worked to improve immunization rates for vaccines to prevent polio, measles, diphtheria, pertussis, tetanus and tuberculosis as part of its effort to lower the mortality rate for children up to 5 years of age under the National Expanded Programme on Immunization in Vietnam.

Previously, Kitasato Daiichi Sankyo Vaccine and the Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA) offered technical assistance to Vietnam’s public corporation Center for Research and Production of Vaccines and Biologicals (POLYVAC) to produce the measles vaccine for four years between March 2006 and March 2010. As a result of this cooperation, POLYVAC acquired technology for domestic production of measles vaccine.

The 2013 technical cooperation project utilizes the rubella vaccine production technology of Kitasato Daiichi Sankyo Vaccine, in addition to the existing measles vaccine production technology of POLYVAC, to build a current Good Manufacturing Practice compliant measles-rubella combined vaccine production system that is expected to contribute to lowering the rate of measles and rubella cases in Vietnam.