Strengthening pharmacovigilance capacities in Southern African countries – current practices, challenges and proposed strategiesAt the Academy of Pharmaceutical Sciences (APSSA) 2025 Conference, Lagoon Beach, Cape Town, South Africa, I had the opportunity to deliver a podium presentation on strengthening pharmacovigilance capacities in Southern African countries.FIND OUT MORE18th World Congress on Public HealthThe SoPH is partnering with the World Federation of Public Health Associations (WFPHA) and the Public Health Association of South Africa (PHASA) to host the 18th World Congress on Public Health in Cape Town, September 6-9, 2026.FIND OUT MOREGT4Africa concludes on a high note with a closing webinar of reflection and celebrationAfter over three years of collaboration, the GT4Africa collective held its concluding webinar on 21 August 2025 to take stock of its journey and celebrate milestones.FIND OUT MOREThe School of Public Health-UWC, NACOSA, Hope Africa and Triangle Project launch a glossary of gender and sexuality terms in three South African languagesOn Tuesday, 23 February, the School of Public Health, NACOSA, Hope Africa, and Triangle Project, together with representatives from civil society and government departments working on sexual and reproductive health (SRH), gathered at Bertha House to celebrate the launch of...FIND OUT MORE
We had the opportunity to introduce the Centre of Excellence for Pharmacovigilance in Southern Africa (CEPSA) at the AU-EU Workshop Series on Public Health Innovations held in a hybrid format in Pretoria on 3 December 2024.
The three-day validation workshop held in Cape Town from May 8-10, 2024, brought together 20 feminist - researchers, academics, implementers, and activists from 12 countries and 16 institutions in Africa.
The SPARCS Project hosted a workshop to support increased collaboration and networking between national regulatory authorities (NRAs) and national ethical committees (NECs) on the regulation of clinical trials in Southern Africa and identify priority areas for a framework for effective clinical trial oversight in the region.
The SPaRCS Project hosted a Pharmacovigilance (PV) Systems Strengthening Workshop, 9-11 July 2023 in Windhoek, Namibia. The workshop marked the final in a series of capacity strengthening and mutual learning workshops in the Pharmacovigilance Systems Strengthening thematic area, and was attended by fifteen participants from seven countries (Namibia, South Africa, Eswatini, Zimbabwe, Mozambique, Zambia, and Belgium)
In 2021 the SPARCS Project held a series of three virtual workshops aimed at strengthening the Pharmacovigilance (PV) Systems in the four countries in Southern Africa, based on an assessment of needs.
by Star Khoza, Carnita Ernest and Hazel Bradley
Since late 2021 the SPARCS Project has been developing a pilot training for Community Health Workers (CHWs) on Adverse Drug Reactions and Pharmacovigilance
This project develops a strategy to support and strengthen Community Health Workers (CHWs) in preventing Non-Communicable Diseases (NCD’s) in South Africa through interprofessional learning.