USP Partners with USAID to Secure Supply Chain

The US Pharmacopeial Convention (USP) announced on Aug. 31, 2015 that USP is working with the United States Agency for International Development (USAID) to secure health supply chain systems and ensure the safety of medicines as part of USAID’s Global Health Supply Chain (GHSC) Technical Assistance program. USP will set up and manage quality assurance (QA) systems, train QA staff, help suppliers apply standards and QA tools, help maintain product quality during distribution, and raise global awareness about threats to the supply chain.

According to USP, supply chain systems are weakened by inadequate quality safeguards such as regulatory bottlenecks and poor storage. This weakness allows for the infiltration of counterfeit drugs and substandard products, as well as degradation of legitimate products. Poor quality and counterfeit drugs threaten patient health and can weaken the fight against global health concerns such as malaria and HIV/AIDS, the agency notes.

“USP is pleased to be a part of the Global Health Supply Chain Technical Assistance program,” says Kelly Willis, USP’s senior vice-president for Global Public Health. “We are eager to help partners build strong national and regional supply chain systems that can ensure medicines and other lifesaving health products meet quality standards at every step of the way to reaching patients.”

The GHSC program is a consortium of 16 organizations that helps governments deliver quality-assured health supplies to communities and provides technical assistance to in-country supply chain systems. GHSC Technical Assistance program members include Akeso Associates, Barloworld Supply Chain Software, BroadReach Healthcare, Connected Logistics, Cultural Practice, Ernst & Young LLP, Palladium Group, LeapFrog Solutions, MSGI Corporation, Overseas Strategic Consulting, the Pennsylvania State University Center for Supply Chain Research, Purdy Group, The QED Group, and UTi Worldwide.

Source: USP