By Patrick Stephen Tokpah/Bong
The Liberia Medicines and Health Products Regulatory Authority (LMHRA) has concluded a one-day training workshop on Pharmacovigilance and Adverse Drug Reaction (ADR) reports with health workers in Gbarnga, Bong County.
LMHRA is the statutory arm of the Government of Liberia with the responsibility to ensure that all medicines and health products circulating the borders of Liberia are safe and efficacious.
The LMHRA was established based on provisions of the National Drug Policy for the establishment of a Medicines Regulatory Authority to enact and update medicines regulations to regulate the Pharmaceutical Sector and the establishment of a national quality control laboratory under the Authority. The Authority was officially established in September 2010.
Speaking in an interview with journalists at the close of the training, Assistant Manager Unit at LMHRA, Humphrey B. Taylor, said the training was intended to strengthen the health professionals’ skill in reporting Adverse Drug Reaction (ADR) cases from the various health facilities in the County.
He revealed that the Liberia Medicines and Health Products Regulatory Authority (LMHRA) plays a crucial role in monitoring the safety of medicines and health products in Liberia, including the collection and assessment of Adverse Drug Reaction (ADR) reports.
Taylor further said the pharmacovigilance system was established to ensure the safe and effective use of medications in the country.
“This system involves healthcare workers and the public in detecting and reporting ADRs and poor-quality medicines,” Taylor added.
The LMHRA is conducting these training programs for healthcare workers to enhance their knowledge and skills in ADR reporting and medicine safety monitoring.
Taylor, at the same time, encouraged healthcare professionals to report suspected ADRs through their pharmacovigilance system, adding the entity has developed guidelines for reporting and is actively working to improve reporting rates in the Country.
Moreover, he said the LMHRA is constantly working with healthcare providers to improve its pharmacovigilance system, including the development of new tools and technologies to facilitate reporting.
“This initiative forms part of LMHRA’s broader efforts to promote public health through the regulation and monitoring of medicines and health products in Liberia,” he noted.
Taylor emphasized that the participants were trained in a special area, including introduction to pharmacovigilance and its importance, Identification, and reporting of Adverse Drug Reactions (ADRs), Proper use of ADR notification forms and digital reporting systems, and the roles and responsibilities of healthcare professionals in ensuring medicine safety.
He believes the training will enhance the healthcare providers’ knowledge of reporting cases and contribute significantly to reducing the risks posed by unsafe or counterfeit medications in the market in Liberia.
The Assistant Manager Unit at LMHRA said besides the training, the team also created awareness in some marketplaces in Bong County.
He said the awareness was intended to enlighten the citizen’s understanding on the danger of unsafe or counterfeit medications.
Taylor added that the training and awareness will be done across the Country, something believes will help strengthen the healthcare delivery system of Liberia.
For their part, the participants of the workshop lauded LMHRA for providing such a unique training in the County.
“With the new knowledge acquired, will help us to enhance our reporting systems at our various health facilities in the County,” they added.
The LMHRA training participants stated that the new knowledge they gained will enhance the healthcare system and their interactions with patients regarding their health conditions.
The LMHRA training was attended by thirty (30) health practitioners from the various health facilities across Bong County.
