Pakistan stands at a critical crossroads in public health policy. With seven million births annually and a population growth rate of 2.55%, our nation faces an unprecedented challenge in vaccine security that demands immediate and decisive action. The looming withdrawal of GAVI support by 2031 presents not just a crisis, but an opportunity to transform Pakistan into a self-reliant pharmaceutical powerhouse.

The stark reality we face

The numbers paint a sobering picture of our current vulnerability. Pakistan’s complete dependency on donated and discounted vaccine supplies, supported by GAVI, UNICEF, and WHO to the tune of PKR 26 billion annually, masks a deeper structural weakness. When GAVI’s support ends in 2031, the financial burden will balloon to PKR 100 billion annually as nearly four times our current federal health budget of PKR 27 billion.

This dependency is not merely financial; it represents a fundamental threat to national health security. This isn’t just underdevelopment—it’s a systematic surrender of national health autonomy.

Today, Pakistan produces virtually no antigens for the Expanded Programme on Immunization (EPI) vaccines domestically. We lack essential seed banks, have minimal university-based vaccine development programs, and operate with regulatory guidelines that are inadequate for sophisticated vaccine manufacturing. Our clinical trial expertise remains severely limited, creating bottlenecks in bringing locally developed vaccines to market.

The contrast with global pharmaceutical leaders is stark. While universities worldwide have been the birthplace of revolutionary vaccines-from the Hepatitis B vaccine developed at UC San Francisco to the Oxford-AstraZeneca Covid-19 vaccine-Pakistan’s academic institutions remain largely disconnected from commercial vaccine production.

Learning from global success stories

International experience offers valuable lessons. India transformed itself into the “pharmacy of the world” through strategic government support for generic manufacturing and robust regulatory frameworks. Singapore built a biomedical hub through integrated research, manufacturing, and regulatory excellence that attracted billions in global........

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