On October 29, USAID and Uzbekistan’s Ministry of Health Agency on Development of the Pharmaceutical Industry (Pharm Agency) signed a Memorandum of Understanding to implement the Promoting the Quality of Medicines Plus program in Uzbekistan.
According to the U.S. Embassy in Tashkent, the document was signed by Rebecca Black, Acting Mission Director for USAID in Uzbekistan, and Sardor Kariev, Director of the Pharm Agency.
The Promoting the Quality of Medicines Plus program will provide technical assistance to the Pharm Agency to strengthen their review and regulatory capacity, promote transparency and accountability, manage pharmaceutical quality-assurance systems, protect patient safety and combat antimicrobial resistance. The program will also establish a Good Manufacturing Practices inspectorate, compliant with international standards, to ensure that pharmaceutical manufacturers operate according to international standards.
Over the past two years, the Government of Uzbekistan has demonstrated a strong commitment to introduce international standards in the pharmaceutical and health care industries. Uzbekistan has created a favorable business environment to increase the number of domestic pharmaceutical manufacturers and to improve the supply of essential medicines. The recent Presidential decree on “Further measures for speedy development of the pharmaceutical industry in Uzbekistan in 2019-2021” shows that meeting the demand for quality medicines and medical products through domestic production is a top priority for the country.
Since 2014, USAID has been supporting the private sector in Uzbekistan to improve the safety of tuberculosis (TB) medicines. As Uzbekistan shifts to the domestic procurement of TB medicines, it is important that TB medicines produced locally meet international quality standards.
The Promoting the Quality of Medicines Plus program is a five-year cooperative agreement between USAID and the U.S. Pharmacopeial Convention to sustainably strengthen medical product quality assurance systems in low- and middle-income countries.
