The WHO Good Governance for Medicines (GGM) programme was launched in 2004 with the goal of contributing to health systems strengthening and preventing corruption by promoting good governance in the pharmaceutical sector. Its objectives are to:
- raise awareness on the impact of corruption in the pharmaceutical sector and bring this to the national health policy agenda;
- increase transparency and accountability in medicine regulatory and supply management systems; promote individual and institutional integrity in the pharmaceutical sector; and
- institutionalize good governance in pharmaceutical systems by building national capacity and leadership.
The concept underlying the GGM approach is that by supporting policy-makers and national officials to understand where the strengths and weaknesses lie in national pharmaceutical systems, appropriate interventions can be developed and applied.
The intercountry meeting on Good Governance for Medicines for Phase I countries in the Eastern Mediterranean Region was held in Jordan, Amman, from 16 to 19 August 2015. The meeting involved representatives from anti-corruption agencies, independent national assessors and government counterparts from six target countries including Afghanistan, Iraq, Jordan, Lebanon, Morocco and Pakistan (Libya and Yemen could not participate).
The objectives of the meeting were to:
- present results of national assessments conducted in participating countries and identify strengths, weaknesses, opportunities and threats (SWOT analysis);
- increase the capacity of national teams to move to GGM Phase II activities;
- identify and address potential bottlenecks in developing a national GGM framework; and
- develop national GGM action plans up to end 2016.