Evaluation of the review models and approval timelines of authorities participating in the East African Medicine Regulatory Harmonisation initiative: alignment and strategies for moving forward.

Introduction: Medicines regulatory harmonisation has been embraced by many national regulatory authorities (NRAs) to improve public health through faster availability of safe, high-quality, and effective medical products to patients and enhanced standardisation of technical guidelines and work sharing, leading to reduced cost to pharmaceutical companies. After ten years of implementing regulatory harmonisation by the East African Community Medicines Registration Harmonization (EAC-MRH) initiative, it is now imperative for participating NRAs to rely on each other to minimise duplication of use of limited resources. Major challenges in implementing reliance are the lack of clear registration processes and delays in the approval.

Evaluation of good review practices in member authorities of the East African Medicines Regulatory Harmonisation initiative: strategies for alignment with African medicines agency.

Introduction: The East African Community Medicines Regulatory Harmonisation (EAC-MRH) programme was established to address challenges faced by national regulatory authorities (NRAs) of the region. Work sharing through joint assessments and inspections was adopted to manage limited resources and capacity; however, NRA good review practices (GrevP) are also a key determinant to success. This study evaluated GReVP among the EAC-MRH NRAs and mapped required strategies for countries to align themselves with the African Medicines Agency (AMA).

Characteristics of paediatric injuries as predictors of 24-hour disposition from the Emergency Department of a teaching hospital in Southwestern Uganda.

Background: Paediatric injuries are among the leading causes of morbidity and mortality globally, especially in low- and middle-income countries. We aimed to characterize paediatric injuries as predictors of disposition from Mbarara Regional Referral Hospital Emergency Department (ED) Southwestern Uganda.

Methods: This was a prospective cohort study done from 12th December 2022 to 31st March 2023.

Private pharmacy and community health worker engagement in the provision of TB services.

Engaging private health providers and community healthcare workers (CHWs) in the provision of TB care services can increase TB case notification and limit community transmission. We determined whether private pharmacy and community engagement could affect access to TB diagnostic and treatment services in Uganda.We conducted a cross-sectional study on patients diagnosed with TB through three different pathways; by private pharmacies, CHWs, and public health facilities.

How can gender considerations be better integrated into animal health emergency preparedness and response?

Global and national authorities have not historically approached animal health emergencies through a gendered lens. Yet these events almost certainly have gendered dimensions, such as differential engagement of women or men depending on their culturally accepted or assigned roles for animal care; risk of exposure to zoonoses; and access to emergency resources during response and recovery. Despite the role that gender seems to play with respect to animal health emergencies, little research has been conducted to better understand such dynamics, and little policy has been promulgated to address it in a way that optimizes response while ensuring equitable outcomes.