TheJakartaPost
Please Update your browser
Your browser is out of date, and may not be compatible with our website. A list of the most popular web browsers can be found below.
Just click on the icons to get to the download page.
IsDB supports Bio Farma, Senegal in vaccine production
Change text size
Gift Premium Articles
to Anyone
Share the best of The Jakarta Post with friends, family, or colleagues. As a subscriber, you can gift 3 to 5 articles each month that anyone can read—no subscription needed!
State-owned vaccine and pharmaceutical company PT Bio Farma finance and risk management director IGN Suharta Wijaya (second right) delivers a presentation during a High-Level Forum for Multi-Stakeholder Partnerships session at the Bali Nusa Dua Convention Center in Nusa Dua, Bali, on Sept. 3, 2024. Suharta discussed private sector engagement in assisting vaccine production in Indonesia. (Courtesy of BioFarma/-)
S
tate-owned pharmaceutical company PT Bio Farma received support from the Islamic Development Bank (IsDB) on Tuesday for its vaccine collaboration with Senegal’s Pasteur Institute of Dakar (IPD).
This partnership is part of an effort to strengthen vaccine production capabilities and capacity in Africa, Bio Farma said in a press statement.
The agreement was announced at the Bali Nusa Dua Convention Center in Nusa Dua, Bali, on the sidelines of the Indonesia-Africa Forum (IAF) during a session titled “Harnessing Sustainable Private Sector Participation in South-South Triangular Cooperation through the IsDB Reverse Linkage”.
IsDB director and resident representative of regional hub Indonesia, Amer Bukvic, and Bio Farma business development director Yuliana Indriati signed the agreement for partnership.
Bukvic said the IsDB aimed to continue assisting in strengthening vaccine production capabilities and capacity in Africa, with a focus on improving global health and vaccine resilience.
For Bio Farma, the collaboration with IPD Senegal is part of a significant expansion of its Reverse Linkage Program. Bio Farma’s partnership with IPD Senegal aims to support the African Union's target of achieving 60 percent vaccine resilience by 2040, with the vaccine market in Africa projected to reach US$5 billion.
Meanwhile, Bio Farma finance and risk management director IGN Suharta Wijaya talked about private sector engagement in assisting vaccine production in Indonesia.
Reverse Linkage is a technical collaboration framework that facilitates the exchange of knowledge and technology among IsDB member countries and Muslim communities in non-member countries.
Since its introduction in 2012, this mechanism has been applied in various capacity-building projects and has now become a crucial tool in sustainable development.
IsDB is currently integrating Reverse Linkage into its major projects as a contemporary development tool that promotes South-South Cooperation.
The main challenge faced by the African Union are the limited efforts to enhance vaccine manufacturing capabilities in Africa and the expansion of low immunization coverage during the COVID-19 pandemic, against which only 10 percent of Africa’s population was vaccinated, compared to 80 percent in Indonesia.
"By expanding the Reverse Linkage Program, Bio Farma is committed not only to supporting vaccine resilience in Africa but also to expanding its commercial activities globally," Suharta said.
