E-DRUG: 3rd Essential Drug Programme Managers meeting for Africa
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WHO-AFRO PRESS RELEASE
MEETING OF ESSENTIAL DRUGS MANAGERS
About 50 essential drugs programme managers began a five-day meeting in
Grabouw, Cape Town, South Africa, today to discuss and agree on a framework
for the implementation of the Intensified Essential Drugs Programme for the
African Region.
The programme was endorsed by African ministers of health at the 49th
session of the WHO Regional Committee for Africa in Windhoek, Namibia, in
September 1999.
In his opening remarks at the meeting, the WHO Liaison Officer for South
Africa, Dr Welile Shasha, said the participants would share ideas on the
availability of and access to essential drugs which he described as "the
key indicator of how effective a health system is."
The WHO Regional adviser for Africa on the Essential Drugs Programme, Dr
Moses Chisale, said that the programme managers and other responsible
international and national officers at the meeting would "define
priorities and strategies for the implementation of the activities within
the intensified programme."
He said that the meeting would also review various issues which are crucial
for the development of the pharmaceutical sector in the African Region.
He noted that part of the objective of the framework to be agreed on by the
participants would be to ensure that "we make a difference, especially in
priority areas, such as HIV/AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria."
Among the topics being discussed at the meeting are capacity-building in
drug regulation and quality assurance; achieving better access to essential
drugs; improving drug supply systems for health services; and improving
rational use of drugs by prescribers, dispensers and the public. Others are
information exchange to improve policy implementation and cost control, and
building institutional capacity in Africa.
The meeting, which is the third of its type is being attended by essential
drugs programme managers from 16 countries, the WHO headquarters in Geneva
and its African Regional Office in Harare, some of the provinces of South
Africa and some non-governmental organizations.
The countries represented at the five-day meeting are: Angola, Botswana,
Eritrea, Ghana, Kenya, Lesotho, Malawi, Mauritius, Namibia, Seychelles,
South Africa, Swaziland, Tanzania, Uganda, Zambia and Zimbabwe.
A similar meeting for French-speaking countries is scheduled for July 2000.
Victor Adefela
WHO/AFRO information officer
adefelav@whoafr.org
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