Integrated mechanisms and processes for monitoring the safety of medicines are essential to a well-functioning pharmaceutical sector. The links below highlight recent SIAPS Program work in improving pharmacovigilance practices.

Program Page: Pharmacovigilance
Learn about the SIAPS approach to pharmacovigilance in the context of health systems strengthening.

Blog: Establishing a drug safety monitoring and management system in Georgia
Georgia was the first country to request assistance from the USAID-Janssen Therapeutics bedaquiline donation program, and has required assistance in ensuring the safe use of this newmedicine. SIAPS is helping to strengthen the pharmacovigilance system in Georgia to support the introduction of new anti-TB medicines in line with WHO guidelines.

Publication: Antiretroviral Cohort Adverse Event Monitoring in Kwazulu-Natal
The high burden of HIV and the rapid scale up of ARV treatment program in KwaZulu-Natal provided a unique opportunity to establish a cohort event monitoring system at selected sites within the province. The aim of the cohort event monitoring study was to implement and establish a system of active surveillance that would have resulted in the timely identification, management, and prevention of adverse events to ART. The goal of the Antiretroviral Cohort Adverse Event Monitoring programme in KwaZulu-Natal (ACADEMIK) was to establish an AE surveillance system that would support patient safety, patient adherence to lifelong ART, and enhance quality of patient care in the ARV treatment programme in the province.

Publication: Drug Use Reviews–A Practical Strategy to Ensure the Rational Use of Anti-Tuberculosis Medicines
This manual is intended as to aid national tuberculosis program (NTP) managers, national pharmacovigilance center managers (NPV), tuberculosis (TB) service delivery providers, health care providers (physicians, pharmacists, nurses, public health officers and other health care professionals), academic institute staff, nongovernmental organizations, researchers, and any other staff working in organizations or individuals who are interested or involved in monitoring and improving medicine use to provide high quality treatment for susceptible tuberculosis (DS-TB) and particularly for drug-resistant tuberculosis (DR-TB).