Ecuadorian Health Minister Caroline Chang said Thursday the Union of South American Nations (Unasur) had requested 200 million doses of vaccines against the A/H1N1 influenza from the World Health Organization (WHO).

Chang said the request was made in order to "guarantee the access to the vaccine at equal prices," and she expected the vaccines to arrive by the end of this year.

Chang added that Ecuador had defined the vulnerable groups to receive the first batch of vaccines, including children under five years old, pregnant women, patients with heart conditions and medical staff.

Ecuador currently holds the rotating presidency of Unasur, the sub-regional organization which groups Argentina, Bolivia, Brazil,Chile, Colombia, Ecuador, Guyana, Paraguay, Suriname, Peru and Uruguay.

(Xinhua News Agency October 30, 2009)