The Ministry of Health of Brazil, ANVISA and PAHO commit to strengthen regional cooperation in pharmaceutical regulatory systems and health surveillance.

During the 50th Meeting of the Directing Council, the Pan American Health Organization signed a framework cooperation agreement today with the Ministry of Health of Brazil (MS), the Brazilian Agency for National Health Surveillance (ANVISA) that will strengthen regional cooperation in Brazil and the Americas in health surveillance, and pharmaceutical regulation.

The agreement lays the ground for the strengthening of regional capacity in keys areas related to medicines and health technology regulation, health technology assessment and evidence based decision making, the rational use of medicines, the implementation of international health regulations and regulatory aspects related to patient safety.

The agreement is the culmination of a long history of cooperation in capacity building between PAHO and ANVISA/MS specifically in the development of health surveillance in Brazil and in the Americas in general, in the consolidation of the national surveillance system in Brazil, the development of regional guidelines and norms in pharmaceutical regulation through regional networks, the implementation of the international health regulations in the region of the Americas, and improving regulatory aspectes relating to patient safety and quality of care.

ANVISA -  the Brazilian Health Surveillance Agency, linked to the Ministry of Health of Brazil,  is a regulatory agency in charge of the sanitary control of health products, such as drugs, medical devices and food.The Agency, that has been created on 1999, has as its mission to protect and promote health, ensuring the hygiene and safety of products and service and taking part in developing accest to it.