A Japanese funded project will transfer technology to help Vietnam produce its own combined measles and rubella vaccine.

The work will be part of a 7.51 million USD project that was signed on April 17 between the Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA) and Vietnam ’s Centre for Research and Production of Vaccine.

The 5-year project is expected to begin in May. Japanese experts will come to Vietnam to help transfer technology while Vietnamese researchers will receive training in Japan under the project.

A measles vaccine production facility, whose construction was funded by Japanese Grant Aid for the 2003-2006 term, will be capable of producing a combined measles-rubella vaccine, with possible exports of the vaccine to follow.

“With this WHO- GMP credited measles vaccine production facility and with advanced Japanese technology, we believe that Vietnam will be able to produce high quality measles and rubella vaccines to respond to domestic needs and also export the vaccine to neighbouring countries,” said Chief Representative of JICA Vietnam Office Tsuno Motonori.

Health sector statistics show that more than 4,000 pregnant women has rubella while more than 200 babies were born with congenital defects due to rubella in 2011.-VNA