# \[e-drug\] 3rd Essential Drug Programme Managers meeting for Africa **URL:** \ **Category:** e-drug\ **Created:** [March 14, 2000, 6:09am UTC](https://talk.edrugplus.org/t/e-drug-3rd-essential-drug-programme-managers-meeting-for-africa/7640 "2000-03-14T06:09:09Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 1\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Victor\_Adefela](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/v/4af34b/32.png) [@Victor\_Adefela](https://talk.edrugplus.org/u/Victor_Adefela)\ **Post date:** [March 14, 2000, 6:09am UTC](https://talk.edrugplus.org/t/e-drug-3rd-essential-drug-programme-managers-meeting-for-africa/7640/1 "2000-03-14T06:09:09Z")
E-DRUG: 3rd Essential Drug Programme Managers meeting for Africa --------------------------------------------------------------------------- --------- 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 -- Send mail for the `E-Drug' conference to `e-drug@usa.healthnet.org'. Mail administrative requests to `majordomo@usa.healthnet.org'. For additional assistance, send mail to: `owner-e-drug@usa.healthnet.org'.