Irrational medicine use and poor pharmaceutical management at all levels are widespread problems in many developing countries, including Sierra Leone. Misuse, underuse, and overuse of medicines; weak systems that compromise medicine safety; the waste of scarce resources due to expiry; and the rise of antimicrobial resistance (AMR) are particularly worrying because they directly affect health … Read more
Archive Where We Work
Human Resource Capacity Development for ART and Pharmaceutical Services in Namibia, October 2014-September 2015
SIAPS Namibia applied the capacity building approach to support the Ministry of Health and Social Services to enhance the capacity of two local training institutions—UNAM-SoP and the NHTC—to train pharmacists and PAs, respectively. With SIAPS technical assistance for defining a career path for PAs, UNAM-SoP started training pharmacy technicians, a new cadre in Namibia. SIAPS also … Read more
Analysis of Passive Surveillance Data Collected by the Swaziland Pharmacovigilance Unit, October 2016-March 2017
With support from SIAPS, the Swaziland National Pharmacovigilance Unit (NPVU) has been monitoring the safety of medicines used in the county by collecting and collating reports of adverse drug reactions (ADR) and other medicine-related problems through its spontaneous reporting system established under the country’s Ministry of Health in 2009. In addition, SIAPS has been supporting … Read more
Pharmacovigilance Monitoring System (PViMS) User Guide
The user guide primarily serves as a reference in reporting an adverse event (AE) through PViMS. It also serves to guide reporters and investigators in completing a correct and accurate AE report. This guide outlines the key data needed, starting from the initial alert to the completion of an AE report in PViMS.
In the news: Defeating Malaria through Pharmaceutical Systems Strengthening
SIAPS’ role to control malaria was recently featured in Health & Humanitarian: The Supply Chain Review. Between 2000 and 2015, malaria case incidences declined by 41% and mortality rates by 62%. However, approximately 212 million people were infected and 429,000 people died in 2015, with the majority being children under the age of 5 in … Read more
Ensuring patient safety during HIV and TB treatment in Namibia
The SIAPS Namibia Project Director, Dr. Evans Sagwa, has advocated for adoption of strategies to ensure drug safety in TB and HIV treatment programs in the country. He made this call while delivering a public lecture on Friday, September 22, 2017, entitled “Strategies for optimizing patient safety in HIV and TB treatment programs in Namibia,” … Read more
HIV/TB Pharmaceutical Management Training in Swaziland to Improve Medicine Availability and Rational Use
An off-site training was held for 104 pharmacy personnel (32 males, 72 females) responsible for managing HIV and TB medicines in 88 health facilities in the 4 regions around the country. SIAPS supported the training, which included pharmacists, pharmacy technicians, and nurses. The trainings took place over August 7–17, 2017, and each region was trained … Read more
SIAPS Ukraine End of Project Report
Project dates: September 2012 – June 2017
Leadership Development Program Training to Strengthen Pharmaceutical Management in Sierra Leone
In May 2017, SIAPS held a Leadership Development Program (LDP) training to build the capacity of the Directorate of Drugs and Medical Supplies (DDMS), district and hospital pharmacists, and SIAPS field staff. It was the first such training in the country. The program aims to train pharmacists on basic principles and practices of good leadership, … Read more
Pediatric Antiretroviral Treatment Uptake, Treatment Adherence, Regimen Switches, and Retention in Care in Namibia
In Namibia, a preliminary review of EDT records suggests that children form a small proportion of the patients accessing ART in any given setting, nationally composing 8% of the patients on ART in the MoHSS facilities. Over the years, managing children has been complicated with formulations that have not been friendly for children, complicated regimens, and … Read more