With support from the U.S. President’s Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief (PEPFAR), PQM+ works in Lesotho to strengthen its national medical product regulatory system to ensure medicines are quality-assured, efficacious, and safe for patient use. Lesotho does not yet have an independent medicines regulatory authority, as recommended by the World Health Organization (WHO). Lesotho’s Ministry of Health (MOH) performs basic medical product regulatory functions.
The national medicines system in Lesotho plays a crucial role in protecting and improving public health by ensuring the quality of essential medical products, such as antiretroviral (ARV) medicines, that are available and used in Lesotho.
HIV/AIDS is the leading cause of death in Lesotho and first-line treatments, including ARVs, are at risk of being substandard and falsified. In partnership with the MOH through the Directorate of Pharmacy, PQM+ will help Lesotho to establish a national medicines regulatory authority and develop appropriate regulations to strengthen market surveillance and quality control of ARVs.
