A country’s policies, laws, and regulations define its goals and parameters for pharmaceutical management and affect the rest of the elements in the pharmaceutical framework: medicine selection, procurement, distribution, use, and management support. When good governance supports policies, laws, and regulations, countries can sustain their commitment to an effective pharmaceutical supply system.

Medicine policy includes guidance for allocating budgets, prioritizing research and development, promoting education initiatives, and defining the role of the public and private sectors in manufacturing and distributing pharmaceuticals. By establishing pharmaceutical laws and regulations, countries can set pharmaceutical quality standards and pricing guidelines, require licensing of pharmaceutical products and outlets, and establish production guidelines.

The complexity of managing pharmaceuticals, the large number of interested stakeholders involved, and the value of the products make pharmaceutical systems vulnerable; therefore, having a pharmaceutical management system that embraces good governance prevents waste of scarce resources and increases people’s trust in the health care system.

The Strengthening Pharmaceutical Systems (SPS) Program helps countries strengthen their regulatory system and exercise good governance in the pharmaceutical sector by helping to create and carry out up-to-date and well-informed policies, laws, and regulations. SPS also supports the development of mechanisms and systems that allow for checks and balances throughout the process of exercising authority.