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World Health Organization Praises OECS Secretariat for Drug Procurement

Posted on: Monday, 26 December 2005, 12:00 CST

Text of report by Caribbean Media Corporation news agency website on 26 December

Castries, St Lucia: An official from the World Health Organization (WHO) has given the Organization of Eastern Caribbean States (OECS) Secretariat high marks for its ability to handle quality assurance matters relating to the procurement of drugs for the people of the sub-region.

The commendation has come from Marthe Everard, who along with Dr Sophie Logez, and two representatives of the Pharmaceutical Procurement Agency Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) of the Middle East, have just ended an unprecedented joint mission at the OECS/ Pharmaceutical Procurement Service (PPS) here.

During their week-long visit, the officials assessed the OECS/ PPS' Quality Assurance Programme and were reported to be "very impressed" with the services the OECS/PPS.

"I am impressed by the way you work, the highly efficient office, the highly qualified staff. They are very knowledgeable. They believe in their work. There is a high level of trust in the scheme and the countries need to really appreciate what the OECS/PPS is doing and continue to meet their financial commitments," Everard said. "Quality assurance is really the core of all the operations in procurement and there are also counterfeit operations affecting this part of the world and so we have to be prepared.

The WHO official stressed her understanding of the challenges facing OECS/PPS and similar entities in the battle against counterfeit drugs.

Everard suggested that the OECS Council of Health Ministers consider a regulatory authority for the registration of products and suppliers that deliver into the sub-region.

"This is a global problem. There are business people who don't care about what they are doing and they produce even capsules with flour. That is criminal and they should really be prosecuted. The thing is that from the outside of a capsule you cannot see it and that is the problem that we face with pharmaceuticals and therefore you need to strengthen your quality assurance system so that you can minimize illegal traders from entering your market," she noted.

She said that PPS as an organization is concerned and has been seeking to strengthen its information capacity, and how it can screen this kind of supply. She added that the group from the Gulf Cooperation Council was very helpful because it too encounters the same problems.

The fact-finding mission assessed and informed the methodology of the OECS/PPS in ensuring that regionally procured drugs are safe and effective and conform to international specifications.

The two-member delegation of the GCC Dr Ahmed Khateeb and Hayder Zain shared experiences and expertise regarding best practices of centralized pharmaceutical procurement in the Middle East.

The OECS/PPS and the GCC are reported to be the two best-known multi-state pharmaceutical pooled procurement agencies. Both Pharmaceutical Procurement agencies are acting on behalf of governments and although different in consumer population size, they follow the same principles, guidelines and documents, an OECS statement noted.

The OECS/PPS and their guests also discussed areas of technical cooperation in specialized software for tendering and contracting.

Managing Director of the OECS/PPS Francis Burnet said he was very pleased with the outcome of the visit.

"I think what really came out this week is that drug assurance is not only testing products at laboratories but, the whole gamut of activities spanning from pre-qualifying suppliers to storage distribution and post marketing quality control," he said.

The recent joint mission is also the first occasion that the OECS/ PPS has hosted the WHO at its Secretariat's headquarters in Castries.

Source: BBC Monitoring Americas

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