E-DRUG: Role of DRA in NDP implementation (3)
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Dear e-druggers,
Marianne touches an important issue.
In my work I travel to quite a number of countries where policy-making/supervision and implementation are in one hand (e.g. procurement by MOH). This results in obvious problems. Without other control mechanisms in place no independent regular evaluation on the implementation may be expected: the implementers supervise and evaluate their own actions.
Since 1996, the Minister of Health in Suriname works with a Board for the Essential Medicine Program. The Board is charged with advising the Minister of Health, developing guidelines for the National Essential Medicines Program, and (supervision of the) implementation of the program. The Board is chaired by the Director of the Ministry of Health (MOH) and its members include representatives of the MOH, hospitals, and the physician and pharmacist associations. Under responsibility of the Board a National Drug Policy and related National Drug Program (NDP 05-08, complying with the Suriname Health Sector Plan 04-08) was formulated with input from all stakeholders. A Pharmaceutical Policy Coordinator has been appointed by MOH to coordinate the implementation by the so-called implementing agencies, one of them being the Suriname Drug Regulatory Authority. This way, we experience a sound distinction between policy making/decisions and implementation. This definitively does not prevent the implementers to influence the policy making. It does provide for separate levels for policy decisions and decisions regarding implementation and this way trying to minimize the policy makers direct influence on implementation, a well-known problem in many countries.
As far as I know the situation in Ethiopia, the Drugs Administration and Control Authority (DACA) is an autonomous institution responsible to the MOH governed by a special Board as per Proclamation. This proclamation describes the responsibilities, tasks and organizational arrangements in the area of drug policy, regulatory affairs, information, development activities, training and supervision as well as of traditional medicines and veterinary drugs. This is a clear mix of policy making/supervision and implementation. DACA could even be regarded as a federal MOH sub-ministry of pharmaceutical affairs. May it be then possible for DACA to internally organize the distinction between responsibilities of policy and implementation?
With Marianne, I am curious about other e-druggers' views and experiences.
Kind regards,
Rob Verhage
Pharmacist/Free-lance Consultant
PO Box 4002
Paramaribo
Suriname
597 438966