Islamabad: (Nadeem Tanoli) Federal Health Minister Syed Mustafa Kamal announced an urgent push for local vaccine production as Pakistan prepares for a potential $1.2 billion annual vaccine bill when international donor support tapers off. Speaking to journalists, he warned that the country’s fragile economy may struggle to absorb the projected cost unless Pakistan builds domestic capacity in time to protect routine immunization for a population of about 250 million and some 6.2 million births a year.
Kamal outlined the current funding challenge: Pakistan pays an estimated $400–$500 million for routine immunization vaccines, a cost kept manageable through pooled procurement and support under the Gavi framework. He said Pakistan presently finances about 51% of that bill while international partners cover the remaining 49%, but donor support is expected to decline as Pakistan moves toward donor graduation around 2030–31. Without a transition plan, he cautioned, vaccines could become unaffordable and trigger preventable outbreaks and hospital strain.
To avert that outcome the Ministry of National Health Services, Regulation and Coordination, DRAP and the National Institutes of Health have spent months focused on a single strategic objective: shifting the country to local vaccine production and developing Pakistan as a regional manufacturing and export hub. Kamal highlighted that Pakistan recently added the HPV vaccine to its routine schedule and noted that global standards may expand the list of vaccines over time.
The minister described outreach to partner countries as central to the strategy, citing multiple meetings with health authorities in China and Indonesia and a series of engagements with Saudi Arabia’s health and industry leadership. Saudi Arabia has spent years building local vaccine capacity, and Pakistan intends to leverage that experience rather than start from scratch. Saudi Advisor Nizar bin Hariri and DRAP CEO Dr. Ubaid were named as focal points, followed by a sequence of video conferences and a visiting 11‑member Saudi delegation that toured DRAP, NIH and private sector facilities to assess scope for cooperation in local vaccine production.
Kamal was candid about institutional gaps, saying the current NIH requires a full overhaul and pledging a reformed public institution to anchor any government‑to‑government vaccine partnerships. He also acknowledged past initiatives such as the earlier Pak Vac project and said lessons learned would inform the new approach.
On the policy and business side, the government is drafting an enabling framework that includes Pakistan’s first national Vaccine Policy, already presented to the prime minister, and plans for a Vaccine Alliance to allocate specific vaccine production lines to selected partners and avoid wasteful duplication. Kamal said Pakistan’s current domestic need is roughly 130–140 million doses, while commercial viability typically requires production closer to 300 million doses, meaning export markets and measures such as buy‑back guarantees will be needed to ensure predictable demand.
The minister described a phased approach to build capacity, beginning with pack‑and‑fill and local processing and advancing over time to seed development and research for new vaccines. Early stages may begin within about a year, while deeper manufacturing capabilities will take several years, a timeline Pakistan hopes to compress by relying on partners’ technology transfer and experience.
Kamal also flagged wider health sector pressures after proposed new projects were initially zeroed out in the budget cycle, later rescued through prime ministerial intervention and support from senior officials. He said the revised focus includes telemedicine, an updated UMR initiative, a Complaint Management System and upgrades to strengthen primary care toward secondary‑level services, with hopes that upcoming budgets will provide stronger project‑based funding for the health reforms that underpin successful local vaccine production.
As Pakistan moves to secure its immunization future, the health minister framed local vaccine production as both a fiscal necessity and a strategic opportunity to build resilience, safeguard public health and position the country within regional vaccine supply chains.
