Health minister Chheang Ra shakes hands with Nirutti Pradubyati, director of Pfizer Medical Affairs for Thailand and Indochina, on December 13 in Phnom Penh. moh
Pfizer Inc, the US-based multinational pharmaceutical company, has shown interest in initiating a project for the sale of medicines and vaccines at a low, non-profit price. This initiative follows Pfizer’s support to Cambodia in healthcare systems and the donation of Covid-19 vaccines.
The Ministry of Health revealed the news in a release following a meeting last week between Minister Chheang Ra and Nirutti Pradubyati, a medical director at Pfizer.
During the meeting, Pradubyati thanked the ministry for engaging in discussions with the company regarding collaboration. This involves the “An Accord for a Healthier World” project, aiming to offer a comprehensive range of patented and off-patent medicines and vaccines owned by Pfizer. The initiative targets 1.2 billion people in 45 lower-income countries globally, with a primary focus on addressing disparities in healthcare.
“The initiative aims to close the health equity gap by selling medicines and vaccines at low prices for no profit,” the ministry said.
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Ra welcomed the company’s initiative and assistance in providing vaccines and medicines to Cambodia, stating the importance of ensuring quality, safety, effectiveness, sustainability and equity. He also suggested initiating discussions with a working group before commencing the project.
“I encouraged Pfizer to engage in discussions with our technical team, focusing on establishing a pilot project within a hospital initially before expanding the project nationwide,” he said.
He also noted the company’s support for the nation’s healthcare systems and its contribution of Covid-19 vaccines through the global COVAX initiative at the peak of the pandemic.
Nuth Sambath, president of the Institute of Medicine, Biology and Agriculture at the Royal Academy of Cambodia, said Pfizer is an internationally renowned company known for producing high-quality medicines and vaccines. He said that implementing the company’s project with the ministry would enhance health services, covering every corner of the country.
“I believe that implementing this project with the ministry will enhance our services since we’ll have a partner providing excellent, affordable, effective and accountable medicines and vaccines for treatment,” he said.
He also said that endeavour has the potential to make the health sector flourish, raising healthcare standards to an international level with affordable medicines and vaccines available for people.
The new government has outlined plans to enhance services at all health centres, district and provincial referral hospitals. This includes enhanced human resources development, leadership and innovation among medical leaders and civil servants.
