DRAP starts training for pharmacovigilance

The first target of the programme is to attain the full membership of WHO Pharmacovigilance (PV),Center at Upssala

ISLAMABAD: Officials from different hospitals and the drug regulator are being trained about Pharmacovigilance Development - the science and activities relating to the detection, assessment, understanding and prevention of adverse effects or any other drug-related problem- by international trainers.



A training programme, namely, “Training of Trainers, Pharmacovigilance Development of Pakistan” has started in the Drug Regulatory Authority of Pakistan (DRAP) by the experts from United States Pharmacopoeia (USP) with the aim to train the DRAP officers and focal persons from Shaukat Khanum Hospital, Lahore, Shifa International, Islamabad and Agha Khan University Hospital, Karachi to develop Pharmacovigilance Center in DRAP. The first target is to attain the full membership of WHO Pharmacovigilance (PV) Center at Upssala, Sweden.



DRAP CEO Dr Sheikh Akhtar Hussain in his opening remarks welcomed Dr Souly Phanouvong and Dr Rachida Soulaymani, international experts on PV and all participants from provincial Drug Control Units and Public Health Programmes.

Dr Phanouvong, Dr Soulaymani and Khalid Saeed Bukhari from USP highlighted the importance of adverse event reporting to PV Center and how these reports would be analysed and forwarded to the WHO PV Center at Upssala, Sweden.

They said PV is a science and needs a lot of training to detect and assess the adverse events. Khalid Saeed while highlighting the PV importance mentioned that Punjab Institute of Cardiology and Tyno Cough Syrup would have been detected at earlier stages, if there would have established PV system.

Published in The Express Tribune, May 8^th, 2018.