The Council for Human and Social Development (COHSOD) has given the green light to a Caribbean Pharmaceutical Policy (CPP) that is expected to ensure the Caribbean’s access to quality medicine at affordable prices, said a release from the CARICOM Secretariat at Turkeyen.
The CPP, the release added, will also assist in ensuring the strengthening of regulatory authorities in the region.
During a press conference following the conclusion of the Twenty-First Meeting of COHSOD on Health, Minister of Health Dr. Leslie Ramsammy, who is the current Chair of the Council, said that COHSOD was unanimous in its support for the implementation of the CPP.
According to the release, the pharmaceutical policy forms an integral part of national pharmaceutical policies developed by Caribbean states and will be integrated as much as possible in other policies related to public health. The CPP outlines strategies for equitable access, availability and affordability of all medicines. It also provides for regional frameworks that would “ensure the safety, efficacy, therapeutically sound and cost-effective use of medicines by health professionals and consumers.” CARICOM has developed the policy guided by the principle that access to medicines is a fundamental human right. Within this context, the policy aims to strengthen collaboration among the national pharmaceutical systems in the implementation of mechanisms for joint negotiation for medicines procurement.
Minister Ramsammy said that an important objective of the CPP is to strengthen regulatory frameworks for medicines at the regional level and increase collaboration among CARICOM member states in ensuring the performance of essential components of medicines regulations. “We will take collective actions to support this … and the regional bodies will help to strengthen national bodies in regulating the entry of medicine and commodities into the region,” Ramsammy is quoted as saying. In endorsing the policy, COHSOD also agreed to an implementation mechanism which includes the establishment of an Expanded Technical Advisory Group on Pharmaceutical Policy (TECHPHARM). This group has primary responsibility for overseeing the implementation and assessment of the CCP. Part of TECHPHARM’s responsibility includes the development and implementation of strategies for pooled negotiations and price monitoring of medicines, concurrent with other sub-regional and regional initiatives. TECHPHARM will share responsibility with the national health authorities of participating countries, and the Pan American Health Organisa-tion, the World Health Organisation along with the CARICOM Secretariat will provide financial and technical support, the release concluded.
