Malaysian Prime Minister Abdullah Ahmad Badawi Thursday called on the 56-member Organization of the Islamic Conference (OIC) to move forward in intensifying cooperation to improve the quality of public health in Islamic countries, 'Bernama' news agency reported. "Although there have been initiatives to improve the quality of health in Islamic countries through funding by the Jeddah-based Islamic Development Bank (IDB), OIC member states need to enhance cooperation and bring it up to higher levels, Badawi said while opening the Kuala Lumpur-OIC Health Ministerial Conference-2007 here on Thursday. "One of the areas ripe for further collaboration was in the work of vaccine production," he said in his keynote address entitled "Health: The Impetus Towards Islamic Solidarity". Badawi said Malaysia had taken the lead by establishing the Malaysian National Institute for Natural Products, Vaccines and Biologicals (9BIO) as a frontline agency in promoting further self-reliance in the production of 'halal' vaccines. "We believe the development of halal vaccines would break new ground for promoting public health in Islamic nations," he said. The prime minister said availability of quality, pure and safe halal vaccines would empower authorities and religious leaders to mobilize Muslim communities to ensure children are vaccinated and alleviate their fears about contamination and effects of vaccines.
