Raffaella’s literature update
Be-cause Health & QUAMED literature updates
Ref. Ndomondo-SigondaM, Mahlangu G, Agama-Anyetei M, Cooke E (2020) A new approach to an old problem: Overview of the East African Community’s MedicinesRegulatory Harmonization initiative. PLoS Med 17(8):e1003099. https://doi. org/10.1371/journal.pmed.1003099
Dear Friend,
The capacity to regulate medical products is key for ensuring the quality, safety, and efficacy of medical products circulating in a market. This paper is an overview of the Special Collection published in August 2020 in PLOS Medicine on the East African Community (EAC)’s Medicines Regulatory Harmonization (MRH) initiative, which seeks to improve the region’s capacity to regulate medical products and increase patient access to quality, safe, and efficacious medical products. This paper also reflects on the future of this initiative within the context of the African MRH Program and as a foundation for the African Medicines Agency (AMA), which was adopted by the Heads of State and Governments of the African Union (AU) and is expected to be established in the next few years.
Noteworthy, the East African Community’s Medicines Regulatory Harmonization initiative is now poised to transition from a donor-funded pilot project into a self-sustaining, permanent feature of the African regulatory landscape. A real challenge, but essential for strong systems to regulate medicines! Those particularly interested in this model and -perhaps- in how it could be translated in other contexts, can also see the other articles in this Collection:
https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pmed.1003133
https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pmed.1003134 17
https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pmed.1003129
https://doi.org/10.1371/journal. pmed.1003092
Last not least, for those who will follow the Sixth Global Symposium on Health Systems Research online (https://hsr2020.healthsystemsresearch.org/program), I would like to indicate our Skills Building session scheduled next Monday: “Health systems research methods to study medicines quality and use: spotlight on design, data and dissemination”. An overview of speakers is attached.
With best wishes,
Raffaella
PS Interested in our new short course on Pharmaceutical Policies in Health Systems? Please check https://edu.itg.be/courses/pharmaceutical-policies-in-health-systems
PS Are you on Twitter? Follow us for more updates at @RRavinetto and @QUAMED1