India-US renew Vaccine Action Programme

New Delhi, May 15 (UNI) India and the United States have renewed the Indo-US Vaccine Action Programme, a 20 year old bilateral collaboration supporting research on vaccine, immunology and related biomedical issues.

The programme aims to reduce the burden of vaccine preventable diseases of public health significance in India, the US and other parts of the world and to promote vaccines as one of the most cost effective health technologies.

National Institute of Health Director Elias A Zerhouni and Secretary of the Department of Biotechnology M k Bhan signed the joint statement in Washington in this regard earlier this month renewing the historic programme for another five year period.

''Indo US vaccine Action Programme continues to demonstrate that international cooperation focused on outstanding research and the development of critically important public health tools could save millions of lives. The US government remains steadfast in its commitment to this programme and its scientific vision,'' Mr Zehrouni said.

Dr Bhan said that VAP has been one of the India's most important and successful international scientific collaborations since the programme began in 1987. A total of 35 collaborative research projects have been funded over the last two decades and many talented young scientists have been trained through relationships fostered by the programme, he informed.

UNI