Medicines, Technologies And Pharmaceutical Services

BACKGROUND

USAID Jordan participates in the USAID Agency-wide Medicines, Technologies and Pharmaceutical Services activity that strengthens pharmaceutical systems of low- and middle-income countries to ensure sustainable access to and appropriate use of safe, effective, quality-assured, and affordable essential medicines and pharmaceutical services. In Jordan, the activity focuses on the growing global health issue of antimicrobial resistance. Infections that were once easily manageable are increasingly less responsive to standard treatments partly as a result of inappropriate use of and over-reliance on antimicrobials, such as antibiotics. USAID partners with the Government of Jordan to address this issue through the National Action Plan on Antimicrobial Resistance.

PROJECT OVERVIEWS

The rational use of antimicrobial intervention is a comprehensive approach in which healthcare providers develop and implement standardized, evidence-based protocols for the use of antimicrobials in the treatment or prophylaxis of specific infections. The aim of the activity is to optimize the rational use of antimicrobials and contribute to combating antimicrobial resistance in accordance with the National Action Plan on Antimicrobial Resistance. An additional component of the Medicines, Technologies and Pharmaceutical Services activity in Jordan is USAID’s support to the Government’s National Vaccines Procurement Modernization Committee. Formed in 2019, the Committee developed a National Operational Plan with 17 regulatory points for action outlined. The activity provides technical, legislative, and administrative support to the Committee in its effort to address the recommended regulatory reform recommendations. The activity also works with the Ministry of Health to assess supply chain management and improve availability of pharmaceuticals to patients across the country.

KEY ACHIEVEMENTS

• Standardized antimicrobial prophylactic and treatment protocols and continued support of their implementation in health facilities through a collaborative approach.
   
• Supported reform of national legislation governing vaccine procurement.
   
• Supported the modification of official registration protocol in the Jordan Food and Drug Administration to include WHO-prequalified vaccines thus expediting registration and improving availability.
   
• Activated the National Advisory Committee for Infection Prevention and Control and developed the national training curriculum for hospitals.

KEY ACHIEVEMENTS

The onset of the COVID-19 pandemic underlined the importance of infection prevention and control. With USAID support, both the public and private health sectors in Jordan re-evaluated and improved their infection prevention and control protocols and practices. Moreover, to limit the impact of COVID-19 infections, Jordan successfully introduced COVID-19 vaccines and treatment medications to protect its residents. The administration of the COVID-19 vaccine highlighted the need for appropriate pharmacovigilance and safety surveillance to monitor adverse events following immunization according to international standards and trends. This activity supports the Ministry of Health’s COVID-19 vaccine safety surveillance efforts with technical and logistic support to monitor for adverse events following immunization, including reporting procedures, aggregation of data, analysis and reporting, and the use of data for decision making. Key support to Jordan’s COVID-19 response:

• Conducted rapid infection prevention and control assessment of 30 Ministry of Health and private hospitals using an adapted scorecard for the rapid assessment of health structures.
   
• To help control the spread of infections, supported development of new infection prevention and control COVID-19 protocols and trained over 1,200 frontline health workers in both public and private health facilities, including COVID-19 field hospitals.
   
• Developed the commodity tracking system and a personal protective equipment shortage mitigation strategy at the Ministry of Health.
   
• Developed an eLearning module on COVID-19 and National COVID-19 infection prevention and control guidelines.
   
• Supported the development of a COVID-19 Response Action Plan for Al-Bashir Hospital – the busiest public hospital in Jordan.