Introduction The increased access to medicinal products in Africa is not well-matched with the pharmacovigilance capacity to monitor drug safety. The objective of this study was to assess the functionality and identify the strengths and limitations of the national pharmacovigilance systems in Ethiopia, Kenya, Rwanda, and Tanzania, and compare these systems. Methods Legal and statutory documents governing the pharmacovigilance systems of each participating country were examined by assessors prior to on-site review. The staff of the pharmacovigilance unit of the National Medicines Regulatory Authorities (NMRAs) were interviewed using the East African Community Harmonized Pharmacovigilance Indicators tool, supplemented with indicators from the World Health Organization (WHO) Global Benchmarking Tool. Responses were recorded, and data were analyzed. Results The pharmacovigilance systems were supported by law and regulations in line with international standards. Standard operating procedures for receiving, processing, and communicating suspected adverse event reports were in place, but reporting of suspected medicine-related harm from stakeholders was inadequate in all countries. The number of Individual Case Safety Reports (ICSRs) received by NMRAs in Kenya, Ethiopia, and Tanzania (mainland) were 35.0, 6.7, and 4.1 per million inhabitants, respectively, in the last calendar year. At the time of assessment, Rwanda did not have an operational system. Overall, ≤ 1% of the total number of health facilities per country submitted ICSRs. Only Kenya and Tanzania had a designated budget for pharmacovigilance activities and an electronic ICSR reporting system. The national pharmacovigilance systems in all four countries did not have access to data on drug utilization. Conclusions The national pharmacovigilance systems in the four East African countries have policy and legal frameworks defined by law and regulation to conduct pharmacovigilance activities. However, the four national pharmacovigilance systems are at different levels of capacity and performance with respect to conducting pharmacovigilance activities. Targeted interventions are needed to strengthen the pharmacovigilance systems to enable evidence-based decision making for patient safety.

Preventive chemotherapy (PC) is a WHO-recommended core intervention measures to eliminate Soil-Transmitted Helminths (STH) as a public health problem by 2020, defined as a reduction in prevalence to <1% of moderate or high-intensity infection. We conducted a cross-sectional study to investigate the prevalence, intensity, and correlates of STH after a decade of PC in Rwanda. A total of 4998 school children (5–15 years old) from four districts along Lake Kivu in the western province were screened for STH using Kato-Katz. The overall prevalence of Soil-transmitted helminths among school children was 77.7% (range between districts = 54% to 92%). Trichirus trichiura was the most common STH (66.8%, range between districts = 23% to 88.2%), followed by Ascaris lumbricoides (49.9%, range between district = 28.5% to 63.3%) and hookworms (1.9%, range between districts = 0.6% to 2.9%). The prevalence of single, double and of triple parasite coinfection were 48.6%, 50.3%, and 1.1%, respectively. The overall prevalence of moderate or high-intensity infection for Trichirus trichiura and Ascaris lumbricoides was 7.1% and 13.9, respectively. Multivariate logistic regression model revealed that male sex, district, stunting, and schistosomiasis coinfection as significant predictors of STH infection. Despite a decade of PC implementation, STH remain a significant public health problem in Rwanda.

The currently used quadrivalent vaccine may be insufficient to give satisfactory HPV coverage in Rwanda. HPV Screening may be effective to identify women at risk of developing cervical cancer, particularly if provided to high-risk patients.

Tuberculosis is the most common cause of death in HIV‐infected patients. Isoniazid is used as a first‐line drug to treat tuberculosis infection. However, variability in isoniazid pharmacokinetics can result in hepatotoxicity or treatment failure. Determination of clinical factors affecting isoniazid pharmacokinetics and metabolic pathways in HIV co‐infected patients is therefore critical. Plasma levels of isoniazid, acetyl‐isoniazid, and isonicotinic acid from 63 patients co‐infected with tuberculosis and HIV were analyzed by liquid chromatography with tandem mass spectrometry followed by nonlinear mixed‐effects modeling. Patients were genotyped to determine acetylator status. Patients were either on concomitant efavirenz‐based antiretroviral therapy or HIV treatment naïve. Clearances of isoniazid were 1.3‐fold and 2.3‐fold higher in intermediate and rapid acetylators, respectively, compared with slow acetylators. Patients on concomitant efavirenz‐based antiretroviral therapy had 64% and 80% higher population predicted clearances of acetyl‐isoniazid and isonicotinic acid, respectively, compared with patients who were HIV treatment naïve. Both sex and CD4 cell count affected the bioavailability of isoniazid. Variability in isoniazid exposure could be reduced by dose adaptions based on acetylator type and sex in addition to the currently used weight bands. A novel dosing strategy that has the potential to reduce isoniazid‐related toxicity and treatment failure is presented.

BackgroundInternational initiatives such as the Global Fund to Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria, the President's Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief and the President's Malaria Initiative have significantly increased availability and access to medicines in some parts of the developing world. Despite this, however, skills remain limited on quantifying needs for medications and ordering, receiving and storing medications appropriately; recording medications inventories accurately; distributing medications for use appropriately; and advising patients on how to use medications appropriately. The Regional Technical Resource Collaboration for Pharmaceutical Management (RTRC) has been established to help address the problem of skills shortage in pharmaceutical management in East Africa.MethodsThe initiative brings together academic institutions from four East African countries to participate in skills-building activities in pharmaceutical supply management. The initiative targeted the institutions' ability to conduct assessments of pharmaceutical supply management systems and to develop and implement effective skills-building programmes for pharmaceutical supply chain management.ResultsOver a two-year period, the RTRC succeeded in conducting assessments of pharmaceutical supply management systems and practices in Kenya, Rwanda, Tanzania and Uganda. In 2006, the RTRC participated in a materials-development workshop in Kampala, Uganda, and contributed to the development of comprehensive HIV/AIDS pharmaceutical management training materials; these materials are now widely available in all four countries. In Tanzania and Uganda the RTRC has been involved with the training of health care workers in HIV/AIDS pharmaceutical management. In Kenya, Tanzania and Uganda the RTRC has been conducting operations research to find solutions to their countries' skills-shortage problems. Some of the interventions tested include applying and evaluating the effectiveness of a novel skills-building approach for pharmaceutical supply management.ConclusionNurturing collaboration between regional institutions in resource-limited countries to build in-country skills in pharmaceutical supply management appears to be an effective intervention. Support from local programmes and technical assistance from organizations and institutions with the necessary expertise is critical for success, particularly at inception. The skills acquired by local institutions can be incorporated into both pre-service and in-service teaching curricula. This ensures long-term availability of skills in-country. The ability of trained institutions to mobilize their own resources for skills-building activities is crucial for the success and sustainability of these programmes.

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Monitoring the safety of medicines used in public health programs (PHPs), including the neglected tropical diseases (NTD) program, is a WHO recommendation, and requires a well-established and robust pharmacovigilance system. The objective of this study was to assess the pharmacovigilance systems within the NTD programs in Ethiopia, Kenya, Rwanda, and Tanzania. The East African Community Harmonized Pharmacovigilance Indicators tool for PHPs was used to interview the staff of the national NTD programs. Data on four components, (i) systems, structures, and stakeholder coordination; (ii) data management and signal generation; (iii) risk assessment and evaluation; and (iv) risk management and communication, were collected and analyzed. The NTD programs in the four countries had a strategic master plan, with pharmacovigilance components and mechanisms to disseminate pharmacovigilance information. However, zero individual case safety reports were received in the last 12 months (2017/2018). There was either limited or no collaboration between the NTD programs and their respective national pharmacovigilance centers. None of the NTD programs had a specific budget for pharmacovigilance. The NTD program in all four countries had some safety monitoring elements. However, key elements, such as the reporting of adverse events, collaboration with national pharmacovigilance centers, and budget for pharmacovigilance activity, were limited/missing.

Objectives In this study, we determined the incidence and persistence of human papillomavirus (HPV) strains and of squamous intraepithelial lesions (SIL) or worse cytology in 237 HIV‐positive and HIV‐negative Rwandan women and whether the interleukin (IL)‐28B single nucleotide polymorphism (SNP) at rs12979860 correlated with susceptibility to and persistence of HPV infection. Methods Cervical samples were collected at baseline and after 9, 18 and 24 months for a 40‐HPV DNA screening test and a ThinPrep Pap test. Genotyping of the IL‐28B SNP rs12979860 was performed using real‐time polymerase chain reaction (PCR). Results Chronic high‐risk (HR) HPV infections occurred in 56% of HIV‐positive women, while no HIV‐negative women developed HPV chronicity. High‐grade SIL (HSIL) or cancer was diagnosed in 38% of HIV‐positive women with persistent HR‐HPV infections. HIV and HR‐HPV positivity at baseline were factors associated with an increased risk of HPV persistence. Additionally, HR‐HPV positivity at baseline was associated with an increased risk of developing HSIL or worse cytology. The unfavourable T/x genotype at rs12979860 is common among Africans, and women with this genotype were found to be more commonly infected with HPV. Conclusions HPV screening in Rwanda may help to identify women at risk of developing cervical cancer and polymorphism in IL‐28B may be associated with risk of contracting  HPV infection.