ISLAMABAD: A parliamentary panel on Thursday took notice of the shortage of anti-rabies vaccines in provinces and asked the federal government to take full responsibility of supplying the vaccines to all the provinces accordingly.

The meeting of Senate Standing Committee on National Health Services Regulation and Coordination was chaired by Senator Khushbakht Shujaat, which was attended by Senator Bahramand Khan Tangi, Senator Dr Sikander Mandhro, Senator Dr Ghous Mohammad Khan Niazi, Senator Dr Asad Ashraf, Senator Kalsoom Parveen, Senator Ayesha Raza Farooq, Senator Syed Muhammad Ali Shah Jamot, Senator Sardar Muhammad Shafiq Tareen, Senator Liaqat Khan Tarakai, and senior officers from the health ministry along with all concerned. Prime Minister's Adviser on Health Dr Faisal Sultan also attended the meeting. Ministry of National Health Services Regulations and Coordination Secretary Aamir Ashraf Khawaja and Executive Director National Institute of Health (NIH) Maj-Gen Aamer Ikram (retd) briefed the committee regarding the issue of shortage of anti-rabies vaccine (ARV) in Punjab.

The committee was informed that the facility to manufacture ARV at the National Institute of Health (NIH) was established in the late eighties with limited design production capacity of 150,000 doses per year.

They said since its inception, the NIH had been producing and supplying these doses all over Pakistan.

During the current financial year (FY) this institute has produced more than 225,000 doses of ARV that were supplied to the four provinces.

The executive director NIH said that in the year 2020-2021, the NIH is making all out efforts for a further 200,000 dose production through its own resources.

Copyright Business Recorder, 2020