By Puti Iylia Maisarah
KUALA LUMPUR, Sept 10 -- ASEAN is rolling out a five-year action plan to secure and sustain affordable essential medicines for more than 600 million people by deepening regional cooperation, pooling purchasing power and building pharmaceutical self-reliance.
The ASEAN Drug Security and Self-Reliance (ADSSR) initiative, endorsed today at the 17th ASEAN Health Ministers' Meeting (AHMM) and Related Meetings, seeks to ensure uninterrupted access to safe, affordable and quality essential medicines, not only in normal times, but also when pandemics and natural disasters strike.
The initiative has now entered a pivotal phase, with member states gearing up to roll out its Strategic Plan of Action 2026-2030 following its endorsement.
The framework builds on the ASEAN Declaration of Commitment on ADSSR, officially adopted by regional leaders at the 46th ASEAN Summit in Kuala Lumpur in May 2025.
Deputy Director of the Pharmacy Policy and Strategic Planning Division at the Ministry of Health Malaysia, Dr Abdul Haniff Mohamad Yahaya, said the endorsement signalled a shift into the implementation phase.
"The initiative began in 2019 when we conducted our situational analysis, and we came out with this framework during the 46th ASEAN Summit in Kuala Lumpur last year. Following its adoption in 2025, we developed the Strategic Plan of Action this year.
“With its endorsement at this AHMM, the plan is now integrated into the ASEAN Strategic Health Agenda (ASHA) 2026-2030, making us ready for regional implementation,” he told Bernama at the 17th AHMM here today.
Dr Abdul Haniff explained that the plan comprises eight main strategies, with Malaysia co-leading five priority areas of high national interest.
He said the initiative tackles regional market challenges head-on by harnessing collective purchasing power and strengthening local capacity to achieve long-term self-reliance.
“Under ASHA, for drug security, we want to ensure a sustainable supply of medicines and pharmaceutical products to patients and populations across ASEAN at all times. We also want to develop a certain level of self-reliance, meaning that we can rely on one another within ASEAN,” he said.
Abdul Haniff said the approach could also help smaller markets such as Malaysia secure more competitive prices for pharmaceutical products.
“By pooling demand across ASEAN member states, we can generate higher volumes to negotiate more affordable prices for our populations,” he said.
Abdul Haniff said the action plan covers the full pharmaceutical lifecycle, from research and development (R&D), regulatory registration and manufacturing to market access and delivery to patients.
Among the key measures are the establishment of a regional procurement and stockpiling mechanism, increasing the utilisation of the price-sharing information platform and developing an ADSSR governance framework.
He said the plan also focuses on sharing best practices among ASEAN member states, and supporting co-funded and collaborative R&D initiatives.
The 17th AHMM, themed ‘Healthy ASEAN: Together Towards Equitable, Future-Ready Health Systems’, is being held in Kuala Lumpur from Sept 7 to 11, with Malaysia as chair and Myanmar as vice-chair.
--BERNAMA