Funding for the
SEAM Program is
provided by
the Bill & Melinda
Gates Foundation

Recommendations and lessons learned from five years of experiences from the Strategies for Enhancing Access to Medicines (SEAM) Program, as well as other pertinent and timely pharmaceutical management–related issues and intervention strategies, will be the focus of the upcoming 2005 SEAM Conference: Targeting Improved Access.

The conference, to be held in Accra, Ghana, June 20–22, 2005, will feature both plenary and parallel track presentations and focus on SEAM Program outcomes as well as other key topics, followed by high-level technical discussions on each of the issues. Poster presentations will provide the opportunity for conference participants to share information about their initiatives, research, and experience.

The 2005 conference will be the last in a series of conferences that have been part of the five-year SEAM Program grant provided by the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation. SEAM works to enhance access to essential medicines through collaboration between the private and public sectors. Information related to the accomplishments, lessons learned, impact, sustainability, and repeatability of SEAM Program initiatives will be shared.

The 2005 SEAM Conference is being organized jointly with the Ministry of Health of Ghana and MSH's Rational Pharmaceutical Management Plus Program, which is funded by the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID). In addition, a number of other organizations and programs concerned with access to medicines, pharmaceutical and supply chain management, and rational use of medicines will contribute to the conference.

Although the majority of participants will attend the conference by invitation, a number of open registration slots will be available on a first-come, first-served basis. Individuals interested in attending should submit a registration request as early as possible. All registration requests will be placed, in the order received, on the Conference priority list.