Washington, D.C., 27 October 2020 (PAHO) - Representatives of national regulatory authorities (NRAs) and ministries of health from the countries of Central America launched the Central American Commission for COVID-19 Drug Surveillance, on 7 October 2020. This initiative, formalized during a meeting of the Central America COVID-19 pharmacovigilance project, is aimed at monitoring the adverse events of medicines used to treat selected patients with COVID-19 in specialized centers in the region.
“The Commission will establish a strategy for stimulated surveillance of adverse effects of products used to treat COVID-19, beginning with an assessment of the status of pharmacovigilance and COVID-19 management in each country, followed by setting up a pilot project in one COVID-19 treatment center in each participating country,” explained Analía Porrás, head of the Medicines and Health Technologies Unit of the Pan American Health Organization (PAHO).
Porrás also thanked the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation for its collaboration and the NRA delegates for their regulatory strengthening efforts in the region.
The delegates agreed to start with a pilot pharmacovigilance plan in which countries will present the latest COVID-19 management guidelines and the status of pandemic treatment centers. The participating countries also agreed to strengthen national pharmacovigilance systems, especially active pharmacovigilance, taking advantage of regional strengths and support from PAHO and the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation.
As part of the activity, Shyam Bhaskaran, interim Deputy Director of the Gates Foundation, presented the global Smart Safety Surveillance (3S) strategy for drug surveillance.
Delegates from the NRAs and ministries of health of Costa Rica, the Dominican Republic, Guatemala, Honduras, Nicaragua, and Panama participated in the meeting.
This initiative is part of joint efforts by PAHO and the countries to improve access to safe, effective, and high-quality medicines and health technologies in the Central American region.
