Workshops advocating ASEAN Vaccine Security and Self-Reliance (AVSSR): A regional initiative.

The concept of ASEAN Vaccine Security and Self-Reliance (AVSSR) has recently been advocated for by the National Vaccine Institute (NVI), a public organization of Thailand, through two workshops in 2014 and 2015 organized in cooperation with the World Health Organization (WHO) for the ASEAN Collaboration Initiatives for Regional Vaccine Security and Self-Reliance (VSSR). In both workshops relevant policy makers, Expanded Programme on Immunization (EPI) managers, and experts from government and partner agencies involved in the vaccine life cycle actively participated. A paradigm shift in leveraging the initiatives of VSSR from national to regional levels was noted and reiterated.