The Medicines, Technologies, and Pharmaceutical Services (MTaPS) Program

Pharmaceutical and Supply Chain Management, Product and Health Technology Optimization

The Medicines, Technologies, and Pharmaceutical Services (MTaPS) Program

Male Pharmacist in Ethiopia fills a perscription

Strengthening Pharmaceutical Systems

Box 1 - MTaPS - mother receiveds medicine for her child from a health worker

Working across countries in Africa and Asia, the USAID MTaPS Program has made significant progress in improving access to essential medicines and ensuring they are used safely.

MSH trained over 3,000 health workers - Philippines - MTaPS

In the Philippines, MSH trained over 3,000 health workers, enhanced pharmaceutical management systems across 330 health facilities, and supported the development of 20 key health policies.

These efforts helped strengthen the health supply chain and pandemic preparedness in the Philippines, contributing to a more resilient health system.

Senegal - MTaPS janitor sterilizing a health center corridor

In Senegal, we trained over 1,000 health care workers on infection prevention and control (IPC) guidelines and 10 of 13 MTaPS-supported facilities improved their adherence to hand hygiene and IPC guidelines.

Tanzania - MTaPS - a pharmacist works with medicines

In Tanzania, MSH worked to strengthen pharmaceutical regulatory systems, improve medicine prescribing practices, and prevent the spread of diseases in hospitals and health facilities.

Tanzania - MTaPS training for pharmacists and health workers on antimicrobial stewardship

We worked with the Tanzania Ministry of Health to support antimicrobial stewardship in 10 hospitals across the country and helped over 60 colleges incorporate a revised IPC curriculum for the next generation of health care workers.

Madagascar - Lab technician works with a sample - MTaPS

In Madagascar, MSH improved governance, capacity, and access to information. We helped train 135 health workers across 14 regions in logistics and management of laboratory supplies, reducing disparities in supply management.

In Uganda, we helped establish multisectoral coordination committees to effectively contain antimicrobial resistance. The program developed successful approaches for strengthening IPC capacity at the national and facility levels.

Healthcare workers trained in pharmaceutical system strengthening by the MTaPS program

By focusing on country ownership and sustainable interventions, MTaPS has made a lasting impact on the countries it serves and helps ensure these efforts can be carried on by local governments and partners for years to come.

Overview

Access to safe and quality medicines at an affordable price and their responsible use by all populations can help countries prevent maternal and child deaths, create an AIDS-free generation, and protect their communities from infectious disease threats. Further, ensuring appropriate use of medical products can help control antimicrobial resistance (AMR)—a growing global threat that is making infections harder to treat.

Funded by USAID and implemented by a consortium led by MSH, MTaPS aimed to help low- and middle-income countries strengthen their pharmaceutical systems to ensure sustainable access to and appropriate use of safe, effective, quality-assured, and affordable essential medicines and pharmaceutical services. The five-year program built on the work of its predecessor program, the USAID-funded Systems for Improved Access to Pharmaceuticals and Services (SIAPS) Program. As a core part of its work, MTaPS supported USAID’s efforts under the Global Health Security Agenda to combat AMR. These efforts were directed toward building countries’ capacity to optimize their use of antimicrobials and avert infectious disease threats, thus securing health nationally and globally.

The program’s approach to strengthening pharmaceutical systems was to:

Improve pharmaceutical-sector governance
Strengthen the national regulatory system
Increase institutional and human resource capacity
Increase the availability and use of pharmaceutical information for decision-making
Improve pharmaceutical-sector financing
Strengthen supply chain management
Enhance pharmaceutical services, including building pharmacovigilance systems and improving pharmacy practices

Webinar: Health Workforce Development through the Lens of Sustainable, Locally Led Development

In this webinar, Management Sciences for Health (MSH) discusses country partnerships in Kenya, Rwanda, and Uganda, focusing on how various health workforce interventions are taking a systems-approach to capacity strengthening in order to ensure that improvements last beyond the project cycle and are managed under the ongoing custodianship of local actors.

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