Strengthening Pharmaceutical Systems is a follow-on to the Rational Pharmaceutical Management (RPM) Plus Program.

MSH is pleased to announce that the U.S. Agency for International Development has awarded us the Strengthening Pharmaceutical Systems (SPS) Leader with Associates Cooperative Agreement. SPS will focus on four key results—

• Improve governance in the pharmaceutical sector
• Strengthen pharmaceutical management systems to support public health services
• Contain the emergence and spread of antimicrobial resistance
• Expand access to and improved use of essential medicines

The five-year, $147.5 million cooperative agreement will be led by Dr. Douglas Keene as Program Director and Dr. Maria Miralles as Deputy Director.

To help meet goals relating to the key result areas, the SPS Program will build on the successes of RPM Plus while expanding the range of technical areas to include financing, pharmacovigilance, pharmaceutical care, integration of new health technologies, and increased use of the private sector, among others. MSH will accomplish this enhanced program of activities by collaborating with a number of new partner organizations.

The SPS core partner team includes—

• BroadReach Healthcare
• Ecumenical Pharmaceutical Network
• The Lewin Group
• LMI Government Consulting
• University of Washington Department of Global Health
• World Health Organization (WHO) Collaborating Center

In addition to the core team, MSH is joined by a select group of organizations that will serve as specialized resources for SPS. These organizations include—

• African Medical and Research Foundation
• American Society of Health-System Pharmacists
• Euro Health Group
• Infectious Disease Institute at Makerere University
• Joint Commission International
• London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine

As we work toward the overall goal of SPS, the SPS team will strive to advance the science and "art" of strengthening pharmaceutical management systems. The SPS Program provides a great opportunity for MSH and USAID to continue supporting developing countries in their quest to increase access to essential medicines and facilitate the scale up of vital treatment programs.