Page 16 - RA2019 FONDATION PIERRE FABRE GB

TRAINING OF DRUG SPECIALISTS A LONG-TERM COMMITMENT to strengthen pharmacy supply chains The teaching support programmes, implemented through partnerships with national health authorities, are based on three pillars: teaching students, upgrading instructors’ skills and strengthening teaching and technical capacities. In 2019, various initiatives were pursued to help seek out funding (with international organisations such as the WHO or UNICEF) in Laos and Togo to help entities attain greater autonomy. STRENGTHENING PROGRAMMES ADAPTED TO LOCAL PRIORITIES At the University of Health Sciences in Vientiane, Laos, the Foundation has provided a support programme since 2006. This programme, which was renewed in 2017, offers such advantages as enhanced support for teacher training by funding scholarships (11 were awarded in 2019). In 2019, several pharmaceutical technology training workshops were created and two clinical pharmacy seminars were led by Thai professors from Mahasarakham University. A second support programme, this time for the National College of Midwifery in Vientiane, began in 2016 to help combat maternal and infant mortality. Actions in 2019 included training of trainers, teaching missions by external teachers and hands-on internships for students. Support for the pharmacy department at the University of Lomé in Togo, which began in 2011, was the subject of a consolidation agreement in 2018. New hands- on teaching modules on galenics and quality control were introduced in 2019, along with funding for four scholarships and completion of three teaching missions by professors from the Universities of Bordeaux and Poitiers. In Madagascar, support for the University of Antananarivo’s pharmacy department continued in 2019 through the funding of a teaching mission, a doctoral scholarship and educational materials. FROM THE MASTER MÉKONG PHARMA TO THE MÉKONG PHARMA NETWORK On 11 December 2019, students of the sixth and final graduating class of the Master Mékong Pharma, a French curriculum taught in Laos, Cambodia and Vietnam, received their degrees. On the same day, the start of the Mékong Pharma Network programme was officially announced, which is designed to pro- mote ties between Asian universities (see interview opposite). OUR INITIATIVES Introduction of the Mékong Pharma Network programme This new regional programme, designed to capitalise on the work and collaborations developed through the Master Mékong Pharma programme, was introduced in 2020 for a five-year period. The Mékong Pharma Network, which provides continuing education for teachers, will help improve knowledge sharing in the pharmaceutical sciences. It is also expected to foster South-South cooperation between Asian and African pharmacists and will promote creation of collaborative research programmes. Fondation Pierre Fabre – 16