The National Pharmaceutical Policy (NPP) of Mali aims to ensure equitable access of essential medicines and promote their rational use for the people of Mali. This requires not only a good logistical management information system, but also coordination among key actors. In May 2014 Mali’s Regional Health Department in Segou, with the support of SIAPS/Mali, … Read more
Archive Blog
Strengthening Patient-centered Pharmacovigilance in South Africa
In an effort to strengthen national HIV/AIDS pharmacovigilance activities, the National Pharmacovigilance Center (NPC) has established a cost-effective way of promoting the safe, effective use of medicines in South Africa through the implementation of a decentralized pharmacovigilance program. This new initiative is being carried out with support from the Systems for Improved Access to Pharmaceuticals … Read more
Creating Order from Disorder: De-junking County and Facility Pharmaceutical Stores in South Sudan
Many health facilities and county-level stores in South Sudan are practically overflowing with medicines. For a young country plagued by political instability and insufficient health care infrastructure, an abundance of medical supplies may seem to be an advantage. Instead, the situation holds the potential for a public health catastrophe: many of these medicines are expired … Read more
SIAPS highlights the challenge of medicines access at the 2014 Mini-University
Each spring the United States Agency for International Development (USAID) and the George Washington University Milken Institute School of Public Health sponsor the Global Health Mini-University, a day-long forum for global health professionals and students. The event features a variety of sessions on areas such as HIV/AIDS, family planning, and health systems. This past year, … Read more
Improving Maternal Health: Strengthening Procurement Systems at the Subnational Level
Beth Yeager and Sheena Patel Expanding access to essential maternal medicines saves mothers’ lives. But access to life-saving maternal medicines requires an effective supply chain that delivers the right medicines to the right people at the right times. In many countries, weak pharmaceutical management systems are unable to meet the challenges of providing access to … Read more
The West Africa Regional Project Dashboard: Better information for Better Decision Making
Alerts of stock-outs of life-saving medicines for antiretroviral therapy (ART) and treating opportunistic infections have emerged from a number of countries in West Africa. Several root causes of stock-outs have been identified such as poor coordination and information sharing among partners. The West Africa HIV and AIDS Regional Dashboard, called HIV and AIDS Commodity Tracking … Read more
SIAPS Supports the Republic of Uzbekistan in Conducting an Assessment of the TB Pharmaceutical Management System
To ensure successful treatment and prevention of TB, countries should have strong pharmaceutical management systems to ensure uninterrupted supply of quality anti-TB medicines. Acknowledging shortcomings of the existing TB pharmaceutical management system (TB PM), Uzbekistan’s Ministry of Health (MOH) requested that SIAPS provide assistance and conduct a countrywide TB PM assessment. SIAPS, in collaboration with … Read more
Video: Meet Chinwe Owunna
Reposted from msh.org Chinwe Owunna of Management Sciences for Health (MSH) describes the active surveillance approach used by the US Agency for International Development (USAID)-funded Systems for Improved Access to Pharmaceuticals and Services (SIAPS) Program in Swaziland to increase understanding of medicines safety and risk/benefit context for TB and HIV patients. Watch video More about SIAPS
Information and Action to Address the Serious Threat of Antimicrobial Resistance
Malaika Ludman, SIAPS Technical Advisor; Claire Tindula, SIAPS Project Associate Does antimicrobial resistance mean the end of modern medicine as we know it? Not quite yet. However, in a report recently released on global surveillance of antimicrobial resistance (AMR), the World Health Organization (WHO) warned that “a post-antibiotic era – in which common infections and … Read more
A Phone Call for Health: Improving Patient Care and Adherence to Treatment in Ethiopia
The SIAPS Ethiopia Team Alongside a road in a remote area of the Amhara Region, Solomon Dawit, a truck driver from the Ethiopian capital of Addis Ababa, sits waiting for a ride to the nearest town. He has two big problems: his truck has broken down and he didn’t know how long it would take … Read more
