As a pharmacist, Md. Jahidul Hasan has worked in several hospitals, but it was not until he joined Square Hospital Limited (SHL) that he learned about pharmacovigilance (PV). SHL is a 400-bed tertiary care private hospital in Dhaka, Bangladesh, that serves an average of 1,200 out-patients each day. The Directorate General of Drug Administration (DGDA), with technical assistance from SIAPS, officially launched Bangladesh’s national PV program in 2013. The DGDA first introduced the PV program at 20 private and public hospitals, including SHL, and 13 pharmaceutical companies. Since then, the DGDA and SIAPS have organized trainings for the PV focal persons in these hospitals and pharmaceutical companies to build their skills and knowledge on PV and increase adverse drug event (ADE) reporting.
