US Pharmacopeial to build $1.5m pharmaceutical training centre in Ghana

The US Pharmacopeial Convention (USP) Board of Trustees has committed $1.5 million to set up a Center for Pharmaceutical Advancement and Training (CePAT) for  sub-Sahara Africa. The centre will be located in Ghana, said USP in a statement April 9, 2012.

The organization says the centre will be an integrated platform for training, education, consulting and laboratory capabilities, offering a systematic approach to the quality control of medicines in the region.

The USP says it is seeking for additional funding aside it’s own to provide some services for the centre.

“USP is seeking additional funds from outside donors to cover construction costs not covered by USP funds, instrumentation for the training laboratories, staffing costs and to subsidize local use of the center for the first three years,” it said.

Mr Patrick Lukulay, Vice president of Global Health Impact Programs (GHIP) at USP said the ability to do long-term work in Africa through the center in Ghana “will improve health of patients in the region who are desperate for medicines they can trust”.

The USP is a scientific nonprofit organization that sets standards for the identity, strength, quality and purity of medicines, food ingredients and dietary supplements. USP’s standards are used in more than 145 countries, and its drug standards are enforceable in the United States by the Food and Drug Administration.

It has worked in specific African countries on specific diseases (HIV/AIDS, tuberculosis, and malaria) through grants from the US Agency for International Development (USAID) with the Promoting the Quality of Medicines programme (PQM) and predecessor programmes.

By Ekow Quandzie

USP’s Dr. Patrick Lukulay explains the vision for the new USP-Africa Center