EPN - Ecumenical Pharmaceutical Network

Netlink is the members’ email newsletter for the Ecumenical Pharmaceutical Network (EPN). Netlink aims to help members keep in touch with what is going on in the Network. If you have any information to contribute or comments on the content, or if you would like to unsubscribe, subscribe or recommend someone to receive it, please contact info@epnetwork.org
 

First thought: “See, I have placed before you an open door that no one can shut." Revelations 3:8

• PAG annual meeting
• Work starts on the HIV/AIDS treatment programme
• Visit to Northern Europe
• Chat back

PAG annual meeting

As agreed at the last PAG meeting in Geneva, the 2004 PAG will be held outside of Geneva for the first time. The secretariat is happy to inform you that the PAG will be held on Wednesday and Thursday 6-7th October 2004 at a centre owned by the Evangelical Lutheran Church in Tanzania, called the Uhuru Tourism and Conference Centre (http://www.uhuruhostel.org/). It is in Moshi, at the base of Mt Kilimanjaro, and we will get a chance to see the snowcap of the highest mountain in Africa before it melts away! The choice of the venue has also been made to afford participants the opportunity to be part of the 25th anniversary of the Infusion Production Unit (now known as St Lukes' Foundation), which has served several countries in East, Central, Southern, and even West Africa. It has also been a training site for the PAT programme. There will also be a series of workshops during that week, which will culminate with the official inauguration of St Lukes' Foundation on 8th October 2004.

The theme of the PAG will be "Quality of products and services", which fits well with the EPN commitment to quality of pharmaceutical care and St Lukes’ long experience with hospital-based production.

Please mark these dates and plan to come. More information on the agenda, guests, costs, and other related activities will appear in future issues of Netlink.

Work starts on the HIV/AIDS treatment programme

Work will start in Kenya next month on the first phase of the programme. Focusing on the information needs of church health leaders, current awareness and needs will be researched as well as a baseline for later impact evaluation. This initial work is being made possible by funding from Bread for the World.

It is expected that Nathan Nshakira (previously programme coordinator for HIV/AIDS programmes at ActionAid and more recently at FARST Africa, a Christian technical support service group) will be joining Heather Budge-Reid in Kenya to carry out the first testing of the programme approach manual. The plan is to see the work completed in a second country by mid-June.

Meeting report from Chang Mai

The Second International Conference on Improving Use of Medicines, in Chiang Mai, Thailand, brought together people from around the world who are particularly concerned in improving the use of medicines. The first meeting was seven years ago. EPN attended because improving use of medicines is a core function of the Network, and the meeting also provided a venue to update on:

• The current issues
• Ways that have been tried to improve use of medicines
• What are others struggling with
• What the Network can contribute.

A number of EPN members were there presenting papers, so old contacts were renewed and new contacts made. There was a lot of new Information that will be necessary to share with other Network members in the future—either through e-Pharmalink or Netlink.

It was very frustrating when interesting topics were being presented in different but parallel sessions and we couldn’t be in two places at once. But this frustration was more than balanced by seeing our Network members sharing experiences from the FBO perspective.

Editors Note: It would be nice to hear from other EPN members who were at the conference. What did you learn? What surprised you? What are you going to do next? Short answers please to netlink@epnetwork.org Remember, this is your newsletter!

Visit to Northern Europe

Eva is off to Sweden to attend a meeting on antibiotics resistance hosted by the Dag Hammarskjöld Foundation. She will also be using the opportunity to introduce EPN to other organisations in Sweden (SIDA) and Denmark (DANIDA and Danchurch Aid). We hope this will give us contacts not only for fundraising but also for professional input into our programmes.

Chat back

We hear that Issue 33 of the Essential Drugs Monitor has a report on page 35 of a study tour in Moldova with our wonderful EPN member Natalia Cebotarenco from Drug Info Moldova featuring prominently. It’s not available on the web yet, so if you haven’t received it directly you will have to ask Hans Peter for a look at his copy! And do keep us informed of events in your organisation or area to share with members.

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