Overview

Medicines are indispensable for improving health and saving the lives of people who need them. To be fully effective and safe, they must also be correctly prescribed and appropriately used.

From 2011 to 2018, the USAID-funded Systems for Improved Access to Pharmaceuticals and Services (SIAPS) Program ensured equitable, affordable access to safe, quality-assured medicines and related services in 46 countries throughout Africa, Asia, Europe, Latin America and the Caribbean, the Middle East, and Oceania.

The SIAPS pharmaceutical systems strengthening approach included local counterparts and partners in addressing five interrelated health system functions—governance, human resources, information, financing, and service delivery—with a focus on medicines.

Our programmatic work tackled systemic deficiencies, going beyond the selection, procurement, and distribution of pharmaceutical products to include dispensing and supplying pharmaceuticals to individuals and providing medication-related information and counseling. Treatment focused on critical health areas such as family planning, HIV and AIDS, malaria, maternal and child health, TB, neglected tropical diseases, and Ebola.

By helping countries meet disease-specific targets, we supported effective, resilient pharmaceutical systems in providing a wider range of medicines and products, contributing to improved health outcomes.