Ghana hosts prestigious ASoP Conference in Accra

Ghana would be hosting the 2ndAfrican Society of Pharmacovigilance (ASoP) Conference in Accra from Thursday; November 26, to Friday; November 27, at La Palm Royal Beach Hotel in Accra.

The opening ceremony spanning 9am-10 am on Thursday would be done by Dr Victor Bampoe, Deputy Minister of Health whilst the closing ceremony on Friday would be performed by Dr Anarfi Asamoah-Baah, Former Director of Ghana’s Medical Services and now the Deputy Director of World Health Organisation (WHO).

The meeting is being organised by the WHO Collaborating Centre for Advocacy and Training in Pharmacovigilance (WHO-CC), University of Ghana, in conjunction with the Food and Drugs Authority of Ghana (FDA).

Ghana was selected to host the prestigious event in view of the country’s remarkable leadership in the safety of medicines and vaccines.

Dubbed: “ASoP-2015,” the conference would be on the theme: "Pharmacovigilance in Africa: New Methods, New Opportunities, New Challenges.”

"The experience of the Ebola outbreak and other public health issues makes it imperative for African countries to develop robust systems to ensure the safety and efficacy of all medicines and vaccines that are used in their population," says Ms Haggar Hilda Ampadu, Deputy-Director of the WHO-CC and Chairperson of the Organising Committee for ASoP.

"Africa is a continent endowed with riches. What is lacking is the development of an African-centred approach towards the problems of the day. We have the knowledge, we have the skills, we know the tools: what we need is to work together as Africans for Africa and in Africa," Ms Ampadu said in a statement issued in Accra.

More than 500 participants from Africa and beyond are expected to take part in the conference.

Development partners including the WHO, the World Bank, the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, USAID, the Uppsala Monitoring Centre, ECOWAS, the West African Health Organisation and the East African Community would all take part in the conference.

The local organisers are Creative Trends, a Ghanaian company with experience in organising global scientific conferences.

The WHO- CC is an African Union/NEPAD Regional Centre of Regulatory Excellence in Pharmacovigilance. It was designated a WHO Collaborating Centre in 2009 to give leadership and technical support to African countries and has been responsible for the setting up of safety monitoring systems in more than 30 African countries.

The FDA is the National Drug Regulatory Agency for Ghana. Established in 1992, the FDA is responsible for ensuring public health and safety by regulating all foods, medicines, vaccines and household chemicals.

ASoP is a professional society that brings together stakeholders in pharmacovigilance in Africa. It is the African Chapter of the International Society of Pharmacovigilance and has the aim of improving the art and science of pharmacovigilance through research, meetings, collaborations, education and information sharing.