In April 2015, USAID and Janssen Therapeutics officially launched the bedaquiline (BDQ) donation initiative, under which Janssen committed to providing free BDQ to 30,000 patients with multidrug-resistant tuberculosis (MDR-TB) over a four-year period. Along with delamanid, BDQ is one of only two new TB medicines released to the market in over 40 years. These medicines … Read more
Archive Featured
New hope for treating drug-resistant TB in Swaziland: An interview with Khontile Kunene
In April 2015, USAID and Janssen Therapeutics officially launched the bedaquiline (BDQ) donation initiative, under which Janssen committed to providing free BDQ to 30,000 patients with multidrug-resistant tuberculosis (MDR-TB) over a four-year period. Along with delamanid, BDQ is one of only two new TB medicines released to the market in over 40 years. These medicines … Read more
Expanding options for TB patients in Georgia: An interview with Maya Kavtaradze
In April 2015, USAID and Janssen Therapeutics officially launched the bedaquiline (BDQ) donation initiative, under which Janssen committed to providing free BDQ to 30,000 patients with multidrug-resistant tuberculosis (MDR-TB) over a four-year period. Along with delamanid, BDQ is one of only two new TB medicines released to the market in over 40 years. These medicines … Read more
Increasing Local Capacity for Health Commodities Quantification in Swaziland
In Swaziland, the USAID-funded SIAPS Program has taken great strides in ensuring country ownership and sustainability of local technical assistance initiatives. Since 2012, SIAPS has supported quantification efforts in Swaziland, providing extensive support to the Ministry of Health (MoH) in conducting quantification exercises for antiretrovirals (ARVs), TB medicines, and sexual and reproductive health commodities to … Read more
Engaging Private Sector Pharmacies in Pakistan to Increase Early TB Case Detection
A 2010 prevalence survey in Pakistan showed that the rate of bacteriologically confirmed pulmonary TB among the adult population is very high. Case detection is important for TB control, allowing service providers to identify sources of infection and treat them to break the chain of infection in a community. For this reason, low TB case … Read more
Encouraging increased adherence to treatment standards through drug utilization reviews in Ukraine
When doctors and patients fail to adhere to proper standards of treatment, it results in a higher disease burden, including greater financial costs, mortality, and morbidity. In Ukraine, the need to encourage better adherence to standard treatment guidelines became clear in 2011, when a study by SIAPS Program’s predecessor, the Strengthening Pharmaceutical Systems (SPS) Program, … Read more
Promoting better use of medicines through the establishment of a National Essential Medicines Committee in Swaziland
The WHO estimates that more than 50% of all medicines are prescribed, dispensed or sold inappropriately, and that 50% of all patients fail to take them correctly. The overuse, underuse or misuse of medicines—also known as irrational use of medicines—results in wastage of scarce resources, increased risk of adverse drug reactions, and widespread health hazards, … Read more
Georgia: Establishing a drug safety management and monitoring system for bedaquiline and other drugs
In April 2015, USAID and Janssen Therapeutics officially launched the bedaquiline donation initiative, under which Janssen committed to providing free bedaquiline to 30,000 patients with multidrug-resistant tuberculosis (MDR-TB) over a four-year period. Bedaquiline is the first anti-TB medicine to be approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration in more than 40 years, and is … Read more
At a glance: SIAPS by the numbers
SIAPS Program uses a health systems strengthening approach that supports and integrates all core functions of country health systems for greater health impact. Our new infographic provides an overview of select SIAPS interventions and results in line with six core functions: governance; capacity building; financing; information for decision-making; supply chain; and pharmaceutical services. Click here to view.
Moving toward UHC through Stronger Pharmaceutical Management Systems
By Francis Aboagye-Nyame, Program Director, SIAPS Three years ago, the United Nations unanimously passed a resolution that endorsed the concept of universal health coverage. The USAID-funded SIAPS Program, along with hundreds of other partners in the global health community, now marks that landmark commitment by commemorating each December 12th as Universal Health Coverage Day. This … Read more
