#14 Advancing pharmacovigilance in Africa – Eleni Aklillu & Abbie Barry

Access to medical products has increased considerably in Africa
in recent years, but safety monitoring systems haven’t exactly
kept pace and many African countries still struggle to address
safety issues. We sat down with Eleni Aklillu and Abbie Barry of
the PROFORMA project to learn about their efforts to strengthen
pharmacovigilance capacity in East Africa – especially within
public health programmes.

Tune in to find out:


How comorbidities and genetic variation affect drug safety
monitoring

Why pharmacovigilance centres should strengthen their ties
with academia

How to apply the PROFORMA model elsewhere 



Want to know more?


Low- and middle-income countries like the PROFORMA target
nations face unique challenges in establishing robust
pharmacovigilance systems, as described in this comprehensive
review.

PROFORMA’s baseline assessment of national pharmacovigilance
systems in Ethiopia, Kenya, Rwanda, and Tanzania identified gaps
and laid the groundwork for targeted interventions.

Their subsequent assessment of pharmacovigilance capacity
within the neglected tropical diseases programmes highlighted the
urgent need for collaboration between those programmes and the
national pharmacovigilance centres.

You can read about PROFORMA’s accomplishments in more detail
on Uppsala Reports and on the PROFORMA website, which also lists
the consortium’s publications and upcoming events.



For more on the influence of genetic factors on drug response,
revisit this interview with UMC’s pharmacogenetics specialist
Qun-Ying Yue or this Uppsala Reports Long Read on
pharmacogenomics research in Africa.





Join the conversation on social mediaFollow us on
Facebook, LinkedIn, X, or Bluesky and share your thoughts about
the show with the hashtag #DrugSafetyMatters.

Got a story to share?We’re always looking for new
content and interesting people to interview. If you have a great
idea for a show, get in touch!

About UMCRead more about Uppsala Monitoring Centre
and how we work to advance medicines safety.