Belize achieves full membership in World Health Organization Global Drug Safety Monitoring Programme

By Zoila Palma:  Belize has officially become a full member of the World Health Organization’s (WHO) Programme for International Drug Monitoring (PIDM), marking a major step forward in the country’s efforts to strengthen medicines safety and protect public health. The achievement follows years of work by the Ministry of Health and Wellness to improve Belize’s national pharmacovigilance system, regulatory oversight and monitoring of medical products, with technical support from the Pan American Health Organization (PAHO). Belize initially joined the programme as an Associate Member in 2020. According to PAHO, full membership recognizes Belize’s growing ability to “detect, assess, understand, and prevent adverse effects or other medicine-related problems,” while allowing the country to contribute data and expertise to the global monitoring network coordinated by WHO and the Uppsala Monitoring Centre (UMC). PAHO has supported Belize through initiatives focused on post-marketing surveillance, adverse event reporting, health professional training, data exchange and participation in regional and international regulatory networks. A key factor in Belize achieving full membership was improved interoperability and information exchange, strengthened through the Data Bridges project supported by PAHO. “This enables the country to contribute to regional and global efforts to identify potential safety signals and respond to emerging risks associated with medical products,” PAHO noted. Belize now has direct reporting links to global surveillance systems through VigiFlow/VigiBase and the Global Surveillance and Monitoring System (GSMS), while also strengthening its Drug Inspectorate Unit and expanding regulatory and surveillance activities. “Strengthening regulatory systems remains a public health priority for the Pan American Health Organization,” PAHO said, noting that Member States endorsed a policy in 2022 aimed at strengthening national regulatory systems for medicines and other health technologies. As a full PIDM member, Belize will have greater opportunities to collaborate internationally, access global safety analyses and information, and contribute to the detection of medicine-related risks, including those linked to substandard and falsified medical products. The post Belize achieves full membership in World Health Organization Global Drug Safety Monitoring Programme appeared first on Belize News and Opinion on www.breakingbelizenews.com.