Pharmacovigilance to strengthen medication

Nadira Gunatilleke

The Healthcare and Nutrition Ministry will strengthen Pharmacovigilance in the country. The concept introduced to Sri Lanka a long time back along with Prof. Senaka Bibile's Drug Policy was not implemented due to protests by various parties, Healthcare and Nutrition Ministry spokesman said.

He said the country allocates Rs.14 billion for drugs and even most expensive drugs are issued for patients free of charge through to free healthcare service available in the country.

But there is no strong monitoring and control. Arrangements were made to prescribe drugs in generic names but it failed due to protests. The main objective of the initiative is to ensure that quality drugs reach patients at an affordable price.

A team of Sri Lankan doctors are now undergoing training in Pharmacovigilance along with doctors from 20 countries including Japan, China, India, Philippines and Indonesia. The WHO organised the training course which is now going on in Colombo. The training course will end on October 2.

WHO Executive Committee Chairman and Healthcare and Nutrition Minister Nimal Siripala De Silva inaugurated the training program.

WHO selected Sri Lanka for most of its training programs, seminars, conferences and workshops which gave an indirect boost for the country's tourism, he said.

Pharmacovigilance (PV) is the pharmacological science relating to the detection, assessment, understanding and prevention of adverse effects, particularly long-term and short-term side effects of medicines.

It is the science of collecting, monitoring, researching, assessing and evaluating information from healthcare providers and patients on the adverse effects of medications, biological products, herbalism and traditional medicines to identify new information about hazards associated with medicines and preventing harmful effects on patients, he added.