Pharmacovigilance is a system to monitor the safety of medicines and other pharmaceutical products. Because most developing countries have limited structures, systems, or resources in place to support pharmacovigilance, drug information, and other medicine safety activities, SPS has a mandate is to promote pharmacovigilance in countries where it is needed.

Although pharmacovigilance activities often operate on a limited scale, the SPS Program emphasizes a comprehensive, systems-oriented approach to pharmacovigilance. SPS works with countries to develop an operational strategy that encompasses the full spectrum of medicine safety—product quality, adverse drug reactions, and medication errors—using a range of surveillance methods. Countries can then implement the system in phases as they build capacity and establish necessary resources. 

By carrying out pharmacovigilance activities in a systematic way, SPS aims to achieve the following objectives—

• Improve pharmaceutical regulation
• Assure product quality
• Develop systems and capacity for medicines safety monitoring
• Improve local use of pharmacovigilance information

To attain these objectives and ultimately improve health outcomes, SPS follows an evidence-based operational approach at both local and country levels based on the following steps—

1. Assess the existing pharmacovigilance system.
2. Identify a customized improvement model based on the assessment results.
3. Provide technical assistance to implement the identified interventions.
4. Monitor and evaluate pharmacovigilance and medicines safety activities.
   
   

Read more about SPS' work in pharmacovigilance in the program's newly published paper Supporting Pharmacovigilance in Developing Countries: The Systems Perspective -