Enhancing Pharmacovigilance in Sub-Saharan Africa Through Training and Mentoring: A GSK Pilot Initiative in Malawi

ConclusionRegular PV training and mentoring of HCPs were effective in enhancing passive safety surveillance in Malawi, but the transmission of reports to the national PV centre requires further improvement.Plain Language SummaryWhen a medicine or vaccine is made available for use, healthcare organisations maintain regular surveillance to confirm that the medicinal product is safe and effective. The efficiency of this surveillance depends mainly on the healthcare system and medical practices in place in each country. An important element is an effective procedure for identifying and reporting any unwanted medical occurrences (adverse events) after taking a medicinal product. In countries where regular safety surveillance has not been maintained, it is important to train and mentor healthcare providers on the need to be aware of adverse events and the importance of adhering to safety reporting procedures. GSK and partners conducted a pilot project in Malawi with the aim of improving adverse event reporting by training and mentoring healthcare providers. Training sessions and continuous mentoring were conducted over 18  months, involving 443 healthcare providers at 61 healthcare facilities. There was a large increase in the number of adverse events reported: from 22 in the 16-year period before the project started to 228 during the 18-month project period. This project showed that the training and mentoring progr amme for healthcare providers was effective in increasing the num...
Source: Drug Safety - Category: Drugs & Pharmacology Source Type: research