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Management of Drug Supply in Developing Countries GPHF Offering an Innovative Training Programme under the Auspices of the Federal Ministry of Health / Pilot Seminar Scheduled for October From October 20 through 25, the German Pharma Health Fund e.V. (GPHF) will organise the first-ever training seminar covering the management of drug supply in developing countries. The objective is to integrate pharmaceutical, economic and legal principles into one overall concept, and to complement this concept by practice-relevant knowledge of the specific conditions and requirements of drug supply in developing countries. For the purpose of developing and organising this seminar, the GPHF has teamed up with the Pharmaceutical School of Mainz University. The seminar will be split into six main topics – drug quality, drug safety, drug procurement, logistics of drug supply, business management and economic aspects – and will end with a final examination before the Zentrallaboratorium Deutscher Apotheker (Central Laboratory of German Pharmacists), with the latter also issuing the corresponding certificates. The six topical focuses will cover all and any specific issues relevant to drug supply in developing countries, ranging from quality assurance through drug procurement within the scope of public call for tenders to financing strategies. For the lectures on individual subjects, the GPHF can draw on the expertise of its member companies; lecturers also include experts from Kreditanstalt für Wiederaufbau (a German promotional bank), Deutsche Gesellschaft für Technische Zusammenarbeit (German Service Enterprise for Development Co-operation), Bundesinstitut für Arzneimittel und Medizinprodukte (Federal Institute for Medicines and Medical Products), Deutsches Institut für Ärztliche Mission (German Institute for Medical Mission), Apotheker ohne Grenzen Deutschland (Pharmacists without Frontiers) and Malteser Hilfsdienst (a German Relief Organisation). Practice-Oriented Knowledge Transfer The seminar targets in particular pharmacists, student doctors, pharmaceutical trainees and students of advanced courses of study from developing countries who plan to return to, and work in their home countries, on the one hand. On the other hand, this seminar will also be accessible to Germans planning to work for development aid projects. Dr Richard Jähnke from the GPHF, who developed the seminar concept in close co-operation with Professor Dannhardt from the Pharmaceutical School of the Mainz University, knows the situation in many developing countries all too well: "Most of the people working in the field of drug supply in developing countries are fully committed to their work. But in many cases, they not only lack the resources required but also the knowledge of how to identify the types and quantities of drugs needed or how to check the quality of the medicines supplied. Our seminar aims to fill these gaps in a purposive and practice-oriented manner." Apart from this, Professor Dannhardt considers this innovative offer also a meaningful extension of the traditional university studies: "Not all of our students would like to work in a pharmacy or to own one. An additional qualification with a view to working in a developing country might open up completely new occupational perspectives for some of them. And this does not only apply to students coming from those countries to be trained in Germany." Broad Support The seminar will take place under the auspices of the Federal Ministry of Health. In addition, this new GPHF project is supported by the Federal Ministry for Economic Co-operation and Development that explicitly welcomed the organisation of such a training programme. A further decisive backing comes from the Federal State of Rhineland-Palatinate. In his welcoming address, the Prime Minister, Kurt Beck, praised the seminar as an exemplary model of a Public Private Partnership (PPP) which allowed a promising idea to be realised within a short period. The partners of the GPHF also include the Zentrallaboratorium Deutscher Apotheker. This institution will develop and certify the examination the participants will have to sit. The seminar will be directed by Dr Jähnke, a pharmacist himself. This training course will be fully financed by the GPHF, which will also bear the costs for the participants’ accommodation and meals as well as the expenses for preparation and distribution of seminar documents. Tremendous Response The number of persons participating in the pilot seminar that will take place in the Federal Youth Training Centre of the German Trade Union Federation in Oberursel (near Frankfurt am Main) is limited to 25. Even well before the date scheduled, the response to date shows that the seminar will be fully booked. Dr Carola Fink-Anthe, board member of the GPHF, comments: "We are very pleased that our project idea met with a tremendous response not only with our project partners but also with the students. We are confident that the seminar will be a success, and that we will be able to offer these training courses on a regular basis." More detailed information on the training course entitled "Management of Drug Supply in Developing Countries" can be requested from the GPHF office.
Successful Completion of Saratow Project Imminent The pilot project covering diagnosis and treatment of pulmonary tuberculosis in the Russian City of Saratow, supported by the GPHF during the past two years, will soon be successfully completed. The objective of this project was to illustrate how, by improving the diagnostics equipment and by introducing modern therapeutic concepts, the epidemic spreading of tuberculosis can be stopped. For this project, the GPHF teamed up with the Federal Ministry of Health, the Foreign Office and Johanniter International. Since June 2001, 512 patients were treated within the scope of this project. Within two months, 87 per cent of them were sputum negative, which means that their disease is not longer infectious. According to Dr Martin Friedrichs, project manager, there is hope that the organisational structures set up during the duration of the project will allow for an efficient control of pulmonary tuberculosis in the Saratow Region in the foreseeable future. In the weeks to come, the GPHF expects to be presented with the final project report which will also include information as to how the experience acquired within this project can be transferred to other Russian regions suffering from comparable health problems.
Myanmar: GPHF Project with Ambitious Objectives In the Southeast-Asian country of Myanmar, the GPHF and its two project partners, the World Health Organisation (WHO) and the national health authorities, have set themselves ambitious objectives: as part of a comprehensive school project, more than 250,000 children are to be efficiently protected by 2004 against dangerous infections transmitted by parasites. In some villages of Myanmar, more than 90 per cent of the children today suffer from such infections. On the occasion of an inspection trip, the responsible WHO experts have now been able to strike a positive balance of the first project phase. Following epidemiological tests, several hundred teachers were trained in the administration of the medicines for curing these diseases, so that the first 25,000 children will soon receive treatment. In addition, preparations were made for the production and distribution of information and educational material in the national language, to be used for prevention. Building on this, the project area will progressively be enlarged during the months to come. Teacher training on the preparation of the medicinal therapy is to start in a further two districts in the coming weeks. Myanmar at a Glance: Area: appr. 680,000 sqkm, i.e. almost twice the size of the Federal Republic of Germany
GPHF Supports Relief Project in Kenya Some weeks ago, the GPHF started support of a project for fighting the epidemically spreading HIV/AIDS and TB infections in the slums of Nairobi. To implement this Kenyan project, the GPHF teamed up with the African Medical and Research Foundation (AMREF) and the Malteser Deutschland, a German relief organisation. Approximately 650,000 persons live in the project area, the Kibera slum at the outskirts of Nairobi. This area is thus one of the largest slums in Africa. The average per capita-income of the people living there amounts to 0.2 USD. Clean water, electricity supply or even rudimentary health services are hardly known there. TB and HIV/AIDS can spread unhindered. The number of tuberculosis cases alone has more than doubled during the past five years. As a result of Kenya's uninterrupted economic crisis, the few remaining elements of the basic healthcare services set up in the past are now falling into decay. This new GPHF project aims at counteracting this development and at simultaneously preventing an epidemical catastrophe in Kibera. For a start, this is to be achieved by setting up five examination units for the diagnosis and treatment of sick persons, for the training of qualified staff, and for follow-on post-therapeutic treatment of treated patients. The project partners hope to lay the foundations for efficient healthcare structures in Kibera within a period of three years.
Kosovo: GPHF Supports the Set-up of Drug-Supply Structures Another new GPHF project is the participation in the reconstruction of drug-supply structures in the Kosovo. For an initial period of six months, the GPHF will provide financial resources for the operating and funding of a drug dispensary in the Recane village. For the symbolic amount of 50 Cents, deprived people who for lack of money would otherwise not have access to badly needed medicines can submit their prescriptions. The local partner of this initiative is the Primedic relief organisation. This initiative is the successor of the first project which the GPHF realised immediately after the Kosovo war, making available a large volume of drug donations made by its members to provide the population of the Kosovo with medical aid.
Minilabs and Drugs for Afghanistan Medicines totalling approximately 60,000 Euro in value were donated over the past few weeks by GPHF members to help Afghan children. As part of the coordination of drug donations effected by the GPHF, these drugs were made available to the relief organisation Hammer Forum e.V. For some years now, this organisation has been striving to maintain rudimentary healthcare services in Afghanistan. The drugs, most of which have already been shipped to Afghanistan, are to be used in particular for treating children in the Kabul children’s hospital. In addition, two GPHF Minilabs will soon help in monitoring drug quality in the Afghan capital. At the request of the Institut für Pharmazeutische Technologie (Institute for Pharmaceutical Technology) of Düsseldorf University, the GPHF will donate two of these mobile compact laboratories to the Pharmaceutical School of Kabul University. The report drawn up by the delegates of Deutscher Akademischer Austauschdienst (German Academic Exchange Service) following their visit in Afghanistan in spring 2002 illustrates that the country badly needs as much support as possible for reconstructing an efficient healthcare system. Referring to the condition of the Pharmaceutical School of Kabul University, the report states briefly: "The Kabul pharmaceutical institute simply lacks everything."
Health Promotes Development – The GPHF Plans an Information Conference in Berlin For December 10, 2002, the GPHF has scheduled an information conference in Berlin entitled "Health Promotes Development". On this occasion, politicians, international health experts and representatives of the pharmaceutical manufacturers will inform the audience on new ways for improving the healthcare services in developing countries. Apart from high-level representatives of the Foreign Office and of the Federal Ministry for Economic Co-operation and Development, lecturers will include the Minister of Health of Burundi, representatives of the World Health Organisation, of the International Federation of Pharmaceutical Manufacturers Associations (IFPMA), of the Verband Forschender Arzneimittelhersteller (Association of Research-Based Pharmaceutical Companies) and of several research-based pharmaceutical manufacturers. The special focus of this event will be the presentation and the perspectives of co-operative efforts made by public and private organisations within so-called Public Private Partnerships. This event addresses in particular politicians, representatives of development aid organisations, representatives of the pharmaceutical industry and journalists. More detailed information on the conference programme can soon be requested from the GPHF office or downloaded from the Internet.
Record Audience Rating thanks to the GPHF Minilab® The GPHF Minilab® has helped the German television magazine Globus to achieve a record audience rating. The feature "Counterfeit drugs – Hazardous for German Patients too" broadcast on July 24, 2002 and presenting the GPHF-Minilab®, was watched by almost 2.84 millions viewers (12 per cent) and thus achieved a better audience rating than the News Broadcast immediately following. According to the competent editor, "this has never before been the case in the Globus history".
New GPHF Folder To present the GPHF and its projects, a new 6-page folder has been created. The focuses of this publication are the GPHF Minilab®, the coordination of drug donations and the GPHF seminar entitled “Management of Drug Supply in Developing Countries”. This folder, available in German and in English, can be requested from the GPHF office.
Thanks to Donors The GPHF would like to thank the following companies for their generous support of its project work:
Donations – Publication of the IFPMA The International Federation of Pharmaceutical Manufacturers Associations (IFPMA) has recently published a brochure entitled "Donations of Medicines Through Partnership Programs" which summarises the various drug donations projects of the pharmaceutical industry. The projects presented also include the coordination of drug donations by the GPHF. Copies of this brochure are available on request, free of charge, from the GPHF office.
Minister Marches for Health To draw international attention to the health problems prevailing in his home country, the Minister of Health of the small Asian country of Bhutan, Sangay Ngedup, has hit on a truly unusual idea. On September 25, he will start on a 500 km walk through the Kingdom, which will involve negotiating differences in altitude of more than 4,000 metres. This way, the Minister hopes to obtain international support for improving the healthcare situation of his some 700,000 fellow countrymen. Information on the progress of this march for health can be downloaded from the Internet at (www.move4health.gov.bt).
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