Pharm-Ed

Despite the progress made in recent years towards achieving the Millennium Development Goals, the unsustainable use of medicines remains a major global problem. More than half of medication is still used inappropriately.
The potentially dramatic consequences on the health of populations (non-adherence to treatment, increase in bacterial resistance, adverse drug events, morbidity/mortality) and the resulting economic challenges, make it essential to strengthen rational use in health facilities, particularly in countries with limited resources.
The pharmacist, through medicine-centred training, is a key player in optimising the therapeutic management of patients, in collaboration with doctors and nursing staff. Several studies have shown that the pharmacist has a positive impact, not only in improving care (quality and safety of services involving drugs), but also in the cost-effectiveness of treatments.

The Pharm-Ed initiative aims to promote the efficient management and responsible use of drugs in health facilities in resource-limited French-speaking countries through:

free access to online training facilities (e-learning with evaluation system) on the proper use of medicines and good hospital pharmacy practices
the development and/or putting online of work tools to facilitate the implementation of good practices (procedures, guidelines, checklists, tutorials)
the organisation of seminars as part of blended-learning courses
the sharing of information and know-how through a community of practice

Pharm-Ed is aimed at French-speaking countries with low resources that have reduced access to quality medicines, and are faced with a severe lack of qualified health personnel and little access to training.

There is currently little or no higher education specific to hospital pharmacy in French-speaking Africa.
The use of information technology to offer free online courses makes it possible to reach professionals with limited access to training (political, economic reasons, lack of local skills, distance, time, etc.).
In order to overcome the lack of interaction in online courses, the blended learning format or mixed training (e-learning + face-to-face seminar) is proposed. Practical training and exchange workshops are held once a year in low/middle-income countries. These workshops provide a forum for discussion to strengthen links within the international pharmaceutical community but also to exchange practices, coordinate information and share experiences