As countries aim to achieve the Sustainable Development Goals, there is an emphasis on increasing the availability of medicines. However, poor quality products or dispensing methods may decrease treatment effectiveness or even result in patient death. ADEs negatively affect patient care and increase costs to the system. A functioning PV system monitors these events and triggers … Read more
Archive Technical Highlight
Treatment of childhood pneumonia at the community level with amoxicillin dispersible tablets
Pneumonia is one of the leading causes of death in children in the developing world, killing about 1.2 million children under five per year. The number of children with pneumonia symptoms who receive medical care is extremely low, and as a result, they are not properly treated with antibiotics. A child receiving antibiotic treatment within … Read more
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
DHIS2 and e-TB Manager Interoperability: Creating a Stronger Digital Health System in Bangladesh
In 2015, at the request of the Directorate General of Health Services (DGHS), SIAPS undertook a comprehensive mapping exercise of the existing HIS tools in the country to review their scopes and performances and explore opportunities to link the tools to improve efficiency. The assessment included a deep dive into the DHIS2 platform to assess the system’s capacity, … Read more
Sierra Leone Project Update: Continuous Results Monitoring and Support System
In May 2016, SIAPS began helping Sierra Leone institute a Continuous Results Monitoring and Support System (CRMS) to assess baseline challenges in pharmaceutical management and regularly track and support improvement in key areas. The CRMS uses a series of indicators related to medicine consumption and availability, disease case management, storage conditions and practices, inventory control and … Read more
Sierra Leone Program Update: Strengthening quantification practices
SIAPS supported the establishment and initial training of a national quantification committee and seven quantification technical working groups in October 2016. The national quantification committee and the technical working groups are coordination mechanisms for effective management of pharmaceuticals in the country. SIAPS also supported the Directorate of Drugs and Medical Supplies (DDMS) and the Free Health Care … Read more
Strengthening Capacity for Monitoring and Evaluating Mozambique’s Regulatory System
In Mozambique, SIAPS has been working with the Ministry of Health’s (MOH) pharmaceutical department (PD), which functions as the country’s regulatory authority, to strengthen its capacity at the national level. The PD’s main function is to ensure access to safe, effective, and quality pharmaceuticals through the public and private sectors that contribute to the best … Read more
Swaziland Develops Key Performance Indicators to Improve Warehouse Management
In 2014, SIAPS supported the Ministry of Health (MOH), Central Medical Stores (CMS), and Swaziland Health Laboratory Services (SHLS) by conducting a workshop to build capacity and improve performance of staff that works in warehouse operations. The Imperial Health Services warehouse was used as a model to showcase warehousing best practices.
Ensuring Sustainable Access to TB Medicines through Inclusion in the Philippine National Formulary
To begin the project, SIAPS helped coordinate regular planning meetings and discussions with the NTP’s Drugs and Supplies Management (DSM) sub-technical working group. SIAPS then facilitated collaboration among the NTP, the PD, WHO, and the GDF.
Technical Highlight: Strengthening Regulatory Systems in Democratic Republic of the Congo to Improve Access to Safe, Effective, and Quality Medicines
Chronic underfunding of the health sector coupled with long-term civil unrest in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) has contributed to insufficient regulatory capacity to effectively manage the registration and approval of new medicines in the country. In partnership with the USAID-funded SIAPS Program, the country’s Ministry of Health supported a number of broad … Read more