Bridgetown, October. 8, 2024 (PAHO) - The Pan American Health Organization organized a mission, from 8 to 10 October 2024 in Bridgetown, Barbados, on the assisted self-benchmarking using the WHO Global Benchmarking Tool (GBT). This event aimed to consolidate the Barbados Drug Service understanding on the use of the GBT, provide guidance using the tool and facilitate the self-benchmarking of prioritized GBT modules focusing on National Regulatory System and Registration and Marketing Authorization for Maturity Levels 1 and 2. This workshop is part of PAHO's ongoing support to Barbados to improve access to medicines and health technologies and increase local production capacity.
The mission also provided critical strategic, legal, and policy advice for strengthening of the national regulatory framework to increase the country's capacities to oversee the quality, safety and efficacy of medicines and health technologies.
The three-day event included collaborative and interactive exercises and discussions, as well as a visit to the Barbados Drug Service. It served to identify the strengths and areas for improvement of the Barbados regulatory system and the creation of an institutional development plan. Next steps and a roadmap have been established.
The importance of effective regulatory systems was recognized by the PAHO Directing Council in 2010 through Resolution CD50.R9, Strengthening National Drug and Biological Regulatory Authorities, and by the 67th World Health Assembly by endorsing Resolution WHA 67.20 Regulatory System.
Strengthening the regulatory system continues to be a public health priority in the Americas, as evidenced by the fact that in September 2022 countries approved, in the context of PAHO's Governing Bodies, a new Policy and Resolution for Strengthening the Regulatory System (CSP30.R12) that calls for “using the new WHO Global Reference Tool for the Evaluation of National Regulatory Systems for Medical Products (GBT) and related methodologies.”
The IMT Department continues to work on strengthening regulatory systems as a public health priority for Member States, also considering the potential role of the regulatory system in promoting the production of health technologies and in responding to health emergencies.
