WHO Perspective: Scaling up requires radical new thinking and partnerships in pharmaceutical management

APHA Scientific Session and Event Listing

M. Precious Matsoso, Department of Technical Cooperation for Essential Drugs and Traditional Medicines, World Health Organization, Avenue Appia, 20, Geneva, Switzerland, 41 22 791 4404/2076, matsosom@who.int

As large-scale treatment programs grow, countries may be in the daunting situation where neither the public nor the private sectors will be capable—separately or jointly—of absorbing and managing the additional burden of supplying medicines and commodities. Successful scaling up will require a dramatic transformation of the systems traditionally used for procurement and supply of medicines. However, many national officials and many in the international community are far from this view. A change in thinking and an openness to adopting a new pharmaceutical supply paradigm are essential starting points for meeting the scale-up challenge. Providing mechanisms to exchange best practices, evoking innovative approaches involving the private sector, establishing centers of excellence to develop critical skills for human resources, and harmonizing regulatory requirements among countries to facilitate collaboration are all examples of operational partnerships that can help build capacity for ensuring access to essential medicines. Above all, discrete initiatives in the public and private sectors should no longer operate in isolation; operational, strategic, and scientific partnerships that are not necessarily constrained by borders or affiliations will provide the most effective outcomes. And central to success will be human capacity development and retention of skilled staff.

Learning Objectives:

At the conclusion of the session, participants will be able to

• Recognize why policy makers at the national and international levels will have to adopt a new paradigm for pharmaceutical management to meet the challenges of scaling-up
• Identify mechanisms, such as regional collaboration and harmonization, as well as operational, strategic, and scientific partnerships to incorporating the public, private, and faith-based sectors to build capacity in national pharmaceutical supply chains
• Discuss actions needed in relation to human capacity development and retention

Presenting author's disclosure statement:

Any relevant financial relationships? No

Meeting the Pharmaceuticals Access Scale-up Challenge

The 134th Annual Meeting & Exposition (November 4-8, 2006) of APHA