ISLAMABAD: As the country is facing a severe shortage of foreign ex­­chan­­ge, the Drug Regulatory Authority of Pakistan (Drap) on Wednesday established a task force to promote local manufacturing of veterinary vaccines to save precious foreign exchange.

The task force, led by Dr Najamus Saqib, has been asked to submit its recommendations within 30 days.

Talking to Dawn, Dr Asim Rauf, the chief executive officer of Drap, said the country required a large quantity of veterinary vaccines, but unfortunately most of them were imported from abroad.

“Recently the country faced the issue of Lumpy Skin Disease (LSD) and it required a large quantity of the vaccine.

“We want to make sure that all vaccines are manufactured within the country to save precious foreign exchange,” he said.

Dr Rauf said that Drap would provide all possible resources to help the Task Force to make terms of reference (ToR) for production of veterinary vaccines in the country.

According to a document, available with Dawn, veterinary vaccines have im­­­me­nse importance in protecting animal health and reducing the chances of animal-to-human transmission of various diseases. Furthermore, veterinary vaccines also contribute in less or no use of antibiotics.

Published in Dawn, December 15th, 2022