New Delhi: In view of reports that 65 per cent of injections in the country were unsafe, the Government today (Dec 16, 2004) announced it would come out with a National Injection Policy soon.

"The Government shall be putting in place shortly a National Injection Policy, which will encompass all the health delivery systems, both in the public and the private, be it curative or immunisation purposes," Minister of State for Health and Family Welfare Panabaka Lakshmi said in New Delhi at the launch of auto disable syringe.

In line with the policy recommended by WHO (World Health Organisation) and UNICEF (United Nations Children's Education Fund), the Government has also decided that to stop the reuse of syringes and prevent the spread of infection, only auto disable syringes would be used to administer vaccinations in the country's universal immunisation programmes, she said.

The auto disable syringe "Autolok" has been launched as an agreement between Hindustan Latex Limited, a Government enterprise, and BD, a global medical technology company.

Under the agreement, BD would manufacture and sell to HLL auto-disable syringes based on BD SoloShot technology for immunisation and curative purposes. The device is designed to lock after a single use, preventing reuse.

The agreement also involves education and training of healthcare workers and the implementation of advocacy programmes with the Government, Gary Cohen, president, BD Medical, said.