The SPS Program builds on lessons learned in the Rational Pharmaceutical Management Plus Program and is based on a conceptual framework that combines the U.S. Government’s new foreign assistance framework with the pharmaceutical management cycle’s key components of—


Download the Pharmaceutical Management Framework [PDF - 298 KB].

• Policy, law, and regulation
• Selection
• Procurement
• Distribution
• Use
• Management support

SPS will adapt the framework for each country’s disease priorities, system gaps, resource availability, and political situation. Once the particular weaknesses or problem areas in a country’s pharmaceutical delivery system have been identified, the SPS conceptual framework guides the planning of pharmaceutical management interventions.

This approach is the most efficient way to achieve the program’s four key results—

Improving governance in the pharmaceutical sector. Good governance in public health implies the existence of up-to-date and well informed policies, laws, and regulations, and their appropriate enforcement. Governance improves by promoting accountability and transparency and involving civil society in the governance process.

Strengthening pharmaceutical and laboratory management systems to support public health services/interventions. Strengthening systems requires a long-term commitment and strategies that are flexible enough to adapt to changes, whether related to politics, finances, or personnel. For most countries, strengthening requires building a foundation for interventions that will yield sustainable improvements, such as curricula reform, while at the same time implementing activities that address more immediate problems, such as the need to train and retain existing staff.

Containing the emergence and spread of antimicrobial resistance. The emergence of extremely drug-resistant tuberculosis and resistance to new antimalarial medicines highlights the urgency of stepping up the rollout of critical interventions to address resistance—from the individual patient, community, and hospital levels to developing antimicrobial resistance containment strategies at the national and international levels.

Expanding access to essential medicines. To expand access to medicines, barriers to geographic accessibility, product availability, product affordability, and cultural acceptability, as well as appropriate use, must be addressed as part of an effective and efficient pharmaceutical management system.