There is currently a strong momentum for the strengthening of the local pharmaceutical sector in developing and emerging markets. Regional and national strategies to promote local pharmaceutical production in line with international standards are being developed.

While the rationale for local production is simple - including factors such as independence from donor programmes which may not run forever, more steady supply chains, and greater control to local regulators - there is still a long way to go and markets are tough. Local companies, especially in low and middle income countries, often face substantial hurdles.

One of the big challenges is the lack of a qualified human resources base in the manufacturing sector of medicines and other healthcare products. In particular, there is need for skilled personnel for quality units (quality assurance, quality control) and other GMP relevant areas. Costs for bringing in experts from abroad are high. Combined with other challenges, local manufacturers often struggle to compete and even survive. Not being in line with international quality standards, they are prevented from passing WHO prequalification, participating in international tenders, and entering international markets.

Moreover, the national medicines regulatory agencies (NMRAs) of these countries experience a shortage too of qualified staff in GMP, GMP inspection and dossier evaluation. This creates difficulties for the NMRAs to enforce internationally acceptable regulatory requirements (including GMP standards) thereby preventing the availability of affordable quality generics for the majority of their low income population groups.

This e-learning course introduces Good Manufacturing Practices for medicines. The course focuses on WHO GMP standards and requirements as one of the major GMPs. Course participants will learn about GMP requirements, including procedural, organizational and infrastructural aspects, as well as about the GMP inspection process. They will be able to critically analyse and implement basic GMP requirements in their daily working routine in the manufacturing and regulatory environment. The participants will practice course contents in quizzes, assignments, and discussion forums.

In the end, these capacity building measures in the area of GMP and GMP inspection will make participants from local manufacturers and national regulatory authorities better equipped for production and regulation of quality assured essential medicines in line with national and international standards.

Many of the challenges related to healthcare quality and stock-out situations in low and middle income countries are consequences of poor warehouse management of medicines. Appropriate warehousing of medicines, health products and medical laboratory supplies is an essential component of the supply chain management system, required to maintain the integrity of the health products and prevent stock-out or overstocking at any given time.

This course is designed to introduce you to good warehousing practices for medicines and health products within the health system. We will look at warehouse operations in detail covering the receipt, storage and dispatch of essential medicines. Other topics directly related to warehousing are health and safety, waste management and inventory control. Special focus will also be placed on monitoring and evaluation indicators for warehousing, quality assurance, and rational use.

Ensuring the quality of medicines is a major public health concern. The emergence of substandard and counterfeit medicines, coupled with inefficient supply chain systems, not only poses a risk of negative health outcomes but also leads to economic losses and lack of trust in the health system. To address these issues and develop evidence-based strategies, it is important that people at all levels, from policy makers to primary healthcare workers appreciate and comprehend the need for effective QA systems.

This course will introduce you to the concepts and main principles of quality assurance, and will develop further skills and knowledge in different aspects of quality assurance such as pharmaceutical regulation, pharmacovigilance and quality control of medicines.

The Last mile, is where the patients, clients and end-users are located. In many low and middle-income countries, the last mile is often the weakest link in the supply chain thus putting patient lives and huge investments upstream at risks. 

Using a participatory approach built on a strong didactic and experiential learning, this course exposes learners to understand the meaning, realities and context of working in the last mile, its unique characteristics, peculiar issues and challenges.

This course takes learners on a journey to the last mile and encourages critical thinking and pragmatic approach to solving issues of last mile distribution by leveraging best practices from the commercial and private sector.

This course provides an introduction to HIV/AIDS and how it is managed using antiretroviral therapy. It offers general information about the disease itself, its prevalence, mode of transmission and etiology, and the common therapy and treatment. Special focus is given to the challenges in access and availability of ARV medicines in low and middle income countries.

This course will equip participants with a basic understanding of the disease malaria, its diagnosis and treatment. It is primarily designed for people who do not come from a health background and who are new to this field. The course has been developed internally by i⁺solutions based on years of experience in procurement of antimalarials under Global Fund grants.

The i+scholarship programme for 2020 will open in November 2019. You can prepare yourself by updating your profile and reading the policy rules.

The period for the submission will be published on this site and in the newsletter. Do visit our learning platform regularly for updates.

In the health sector, there is a growing interest in the development and use of indicators as tools for monitoring the quality and performance of the supply chain management of medicines and medical supplies. The use of these tools can assist countries in monitoring progress in program implementation, evaluate performance objectively and revise strategies on the basis of systematic assessment. Improved M&E can contribute significantly towards better planning and management of the supply chain in order to promote efficient and sustainable access to medicines.

The course is designed for experienced professionals involved in SCM. They will learn how to systematically use these indicators to monitor the progress, evaluate the performance and improve the program. Donor agencies, project leaders, and technical and implementing agencies will also benefit from using these tools to harmonize information demands and compare programs across different countries.