Accra will be the focus of attention for the world of medicines and medicine safety as the country hosts two major drug safety meetings – the 33rd Annual Meeting of Countries participating in the WHO Programme for International Drug Monitoring (an invitation only meeting) and the 10th Annual Meeting of the International Society of Pharmacovigilance (ISoP). Both meetings will be attended by the leading experts on drug safety in the world – from the US, the European Union, Australasia, Asia and Africa. The WHO Meeting takes place from 31st October 2010 to 3rd November 2010 whilst the ISoP meetings take place from 3rd November 2010 to 6th November 2010. There is a joint WHO-ISoP meeting on the afternoon of the 3rd of November which would be addressed by the Vice-President, His Excellency John Dramani Mahama. This is the first time that the major global drug safety events are being held in sub-Saharan Africa and the choice of Ghana reflects the increasing stature attained by the country in Global Drug Safety. In November 2009, the World Health Organisation established a Collaborating Centre for Drug Safety at the University of Ghana Medical School and the WHO Collaborating Centre in Uppsala, Sweden has also established its office in Accra. The World Health Organisation is a normative agency for all countries whilst ISoP is a scientific organisation that aims to foster global drug safety and enhance all aspects concerning the proper use of medicines. ISoP is a non-profit Global Drug Safety Organisation with membership in all five continents. Over 500 representing Pharmacovigilance professionals from across the globe will attend the Meeting with the theme “Pharmacovigilance in the Global Village”. The Meeting will seek to examine Pharmacovigilance practices across the globe with a view to sharing best practices, highlighting common challenges and developing broad principles for dealing with them. This theme is particularly relevant considering the increasing incidence of fake medicines and concerns about drug safety worldwide. According to Dr Alexander Dodoo, ISoP President, the meeting constitutes the largest gathering of Pharmacovigilance professionals with a unique platform to share information on patient safety and related pharmacovigilance topics such as “signal detection, safety of vaccines, regulatory update and risk management.” This is in addition to new hot topics including “ecopharmacovigilance and forensic pharmacovigilance as well as medication errors and risk communication, which are not covered enough in other pharmacovigilance meetings.” The meeting, he said, “will be rounded off by a day and a half of training provided by internationally recognised experts covering the basics of pharmacovigilance, risk management, creating safety culture, vaccine safety and safety in clinical trials.” Brian Edwards, Chair, of ISoP’s Scientific Committee, explains that at ISoP meetings “all participants act as equals and this offers a great opportunity for students to rub shoulders with experienced academics and regulators. The emphasis on social networking is as important as scientific quality because the Annual Meeting is the place to bounce an eclectic mix of new ideas around and think creatively.” He notes, “We hope that the thirst for scientific knowledge will be quenched in Accra at this year's Annual Meeting.” Ms Delese Mimi Darko, Chair, of the Local Organising Committee says, “All is set for a great meeting,” adding that “this year, ISoP is trying something new with a scientific session completely in French.” She says, “Three sessions have been allocated to the South American, North American and Western Pacific region chapters of ISoP.” “As well as oral abstract presenters, there will be an opportunity to hear about what's new and challenging in the regions covered by these chapters,” she notes. She adds that an exciting and memorable social programme has been lined up for participants, including a complimentary Gala and Dinner Dance, and a tour of parts of the country to sample the legendry traditional Ghanaian hospitality. ISoP is an international non-profit scientific organisation, which aims to foster Pharmacovigilance scientifically and educationally, and enhance all aspects of the safe and proper use of medicines globally. In addition to annual meetings in different countries, it also holds Spring training courses on both basic and advanced Pharmacovigilance. Its membership is drawn from industry, academia and national drug regulatory agencies from 56 countries in all five continents. More details on ISoP can be found on the ISoP website www.isoponline.org Credit: Sophie Spence, Administrator, ISoP Secretariat