PQM: Promoting the Quality of Medicines in Developing Countries
Treatment failure, increased morbidity, development of drug resistance, and wasted resources. The effects of substandard and counterfeit medicines are devastating, and in developing countries where resources to combat them are limited, their impact is hardest felt.
Since 1992, USP has worked cooperatively with the United States Agency for International Development (USAID) to help developing countries address critical issues related to poor quality medicines. This partnership operated as the Drug Quality and Information (DQI) program until 2009, when, to better meet growing global needs, USAID awarded USP a five-year, $35 million cooperative agreement to establish a new, expanded program—Promoting the Quality of Medicines (PQM). In 2013 USAID extended the PQM program for five years (through September 2019), increased its funding from $35 million to $110 million, and expanded the geographical reach of the program. PQM serves as a primary mechanism to help USAID-supported countries strengthen their quality assurance and quality control systems to better ensure the quality of medicines that reach patients.
PQM Program Objectives
Supported by knowledgeable staff and state-of-the-art facilities around the world, PQM strives to accomplish four key objectives:
- Strengthen quality assurance (QA) and quality control (QC) systems
- Increase the supply of quality assured medicines
- Combat the availability of substandard and counterfeit medicines
- Provide technical leadership and global advocacy
USP–USAID collaborative efforts have helped communities improve drug quality in more than 35 countries. PQM currently works in the following regions (visit links to view maps and country details):