World Bank President David Malpass has said that with the Serum Institute, India is blessed to have a major manufacturer of global vaccines and he is encouraged by the country’s ramping up of its domestic vaccination programme.
Malpass made the comments on Monday during a media roundtable ahead of the spring meeting of the International Monetary Fund and World Bank.
“I’ve had substantial contact with the Serum Institute. India is blessed with having a major manufacturer of global vaccines in India,” he said.
Responding to a question, Malpass said that he has encouraged more transparency in terms of what the national requirements are for local production, and that extends to countries around the world.
“It hasn’t been clear, whether in the United States or in Europe, or in South Africa, or in India, what the requirements are of their local production to meet local demands. I’ve been encouraged by India’s ramping up of its domestic vaccination programme, and we’re working with them on that. This is a high priority for the world,” Malpass said.
“Because capacity constraints are immense, it takes a lot of people to do the scale of vaccination campaign that we are conducting,” he said.
Surjitt Sahani
