Regulation of the pharmaceutical sector

In many low- and middle-income countries, the poor/very poor heavily rely on drug purchases in the informal sector. Improving the regulation of the pharmaceutical sector and increasing consumer awareness about quality drugs and rationale drug use is then an important area of intervention.

Pre-requisites include:

• strong drug regulatory agencies at country level
• regulatory context allowing agencies to fulfil their remit without political interference
• effective communications capacity for consumer awareness raising.

Since few low-income countries meet these pre-requisites, long-term capacity building of regulatory agencies will be required. Little evidence exists about the relationship between better regulation and health outcomes, especially for the very poor in low-income countries. More research is required on this issue.