ASVAC2022 : 8th Asian Vaccine Conference.

Aiming to further the Immunization Partners in Asia Pacific (IPAP)'s vision of a world where no one suffers from a vaccine preventable disease, the 8th Asian Vaccine Conference (ASVAC 2022) was held in Colombo, Sri Lanka and virtually from 15 to 18, September 2022 (www.asianvaccine.com). This conference followed those held in Siem Reap, Cambodia (2009), Manila, Philippines (2010), Jakarta, Indonesia (2011), Cebu, Philippines (2013), Hanoi, Vietnam (2015), Singapore (2017) and Naypyidaw and Yangon, Myanmar (2019). The ASVAC2022 themed "Immunization: in Era of Pandemics," commenced with the EPI Managers' Workshop, followed by pre-conference workshops and Vaccinology Masterclass, followed by the main conference featuring 5 plenary lectures, 6 partner-led symposia, free paper and poster presentations, and industry-supported lunch and evening sessions. There were over 1830 registered participants, with 112 attending in person and 998 virtually from 63 countries. The conference was organized by IPAP and hosted by the Vaccine and Infectious Disease Forum of Sri Lanka, Sri Lanka College of Pediatricians, Sri Lanka College of Microbiologists and College of General Practitioners of Sri Lanka, with the support of the Ministry of Health, Sri Lanka. The 9th ASVAC is scheduled to be held in Davao City, Philippines in late 2023.

Minimizing COVID-19 disruption: Ensuring the supply of essential health products for health emergencies and routine health services.

Leveraging economies of scale and scope through multi-country pooled procurement enables countries to increase access to quality affordable essential medicines and supplies that meet priority health objectives as well as effectively respond to health emergencies. Strategic partnerships and tools can minimize supply chain disruptions and streamline procurement and deployment in health emergencies, thus mitigating stockouts and ensuring cost efficiencies across various therapeutic areas, including for public health programs at a time when countries may struggle to meet complex needs. As a means to better respond to health emergencies while maintaining priority public health programs, countries should optimize usage of pooled procurement mechanisms facilitated by multilateral technical cooperation and other regional mechanisms, such as the Pan American Health Organization's Strategic Fund. Because few analyses have assessed the role of such regional procurement mechanisms, this Health Policy paper evaluates the key areas of impact of the PAHO Strategic Fund and concludes with lessons learned to help prepare for future health crises while maintaining essential health services.