Multiple countries in the APAC region have been experiencing outbreaks of preventable diseases in 2016. The number of Singapore’s measles cases doubled in the first half of 2016 compared to the same time period in 2015, while Malaysia’s tripled from 2015 to 2016. Many of these outbreaks are due to lack of immunizations. Despite multiple efforts, there has been very little increase in global vaccination coverage in Asia. The World Health Organization (WHO) estimates that globally, over 1 million children die from vaccine-preventable diseases every year. Lack of education, awareness, and affordable resources and different cultural beliefs are contributing factors to low vaccination coverage, especially in Asia. Pharmaceutical companies willing to work with Asian governments to target these diseases should be successful in both helping eradicate disease and increasing their business in Asia. Ways to promote vaccination include creating vaccination programs to educate parents and administer vaccines and establishing better infrastructure to transport vaccines in Asia. Currently, vaccines often get destroyed during the transportation process due to temperature sensitivity issues.
