UN chief to meet drugmakers on swine flu vaccine

Geneva - United Nations Secretary General Ban Ki-moon was set to meet Tuesday with about 30 drugmakers to discuss the development of a vaccine for the new H1N1 virus. Experts believe the first stages of the process could be completed by the end of the month. Several more months would be needed before companies could begin large-scale productions. Ban was in Geneva for the World Health Assembly, the annual ministerial meeting of the World Health Organization (WHO) taking place this week. Swine flu, as the virus is also known, dominated much of the first day of the assembly. One concern raised so far has been that poorer countries would not be able to afford and procure vaccines and anti-viral drugs. Ban, along with WHO Director General Margaret Chan, is expected to ask for some cost reductions for poorer countries. Chan has said she supports equitable access to drugs against the new flu. The two also aim to get a better picture of manufacturing capacities. If the WHO were to call for the production of a vaccine against H1N1, it would have to figure out how to balance production with the ongoing need for seasonal flu vaccines. While a committee of the assembly was continuing to meet on swine flu, in the main hall, general health issues were slowly beginning to take on importance in ministers' speeches. On the first day of the meeting, Chan implied she would tread carefully before raising the pandemic influenza alert system to Phase 6, the highest level. Currently, the agency has the alert at Phase 5. Ministers asked her Monday to also take certain issues, like the virulence of H1N1, into consideration, and not only its geographic spread. So far, the illness has taken a mild course in most cases. Owing to the swine flu outbreak, delegates decided to slim down the meeting to just five days, instead of the original nine. Several key health issues, including relations with the private sector and discussions on various illnesses, have been dropped from the agenda. Ban, who is scheduled address the ministers after his meeting with the private sector would also be meeting with Nimal Siripala De Silva, the Sri Lankan minister of health who was chosen as the president of the annual assembly. The UN chief was reportedly set to travel to Sri Lanka later this week for talks with the country's leaders on the conflict there. The government appears to have defeated the Tamil Tiger rebels, though UN agencies were still warning of a terrible humanitarian situation, with possible war crimes having been committed by conflict parties.