KENYA – The Republic of Kenya has landed a major deal to host this year’s international conference dubbed the International Federation of Pharmaceutical Manufacturers and Associations (IFPMA) Ethics & Business Integrity Days from 26th October to 27th October.
The first day of the conference will be a Code Capacity Building Workshop intended as a hands-on, interactive training on the current IFPMA Code of Practice, facilitated by faculty of local, regional, and international IFPMA experts.
Additionally, the second day of the conference will be a stakeholder Outreach Forum bringing together key stakeholders within the private and public sector who will sign a consensus on ethics and business integrity advancement within Kenya’s pharmaceutical industry.
The two-day conference organized by the Kenya Association of Pharmaceutical Industry (KAPI) in partnership with the IFPMA will be taking place for the first time in East Africa and comes against the backdrop of the recent launch of a revised pharmaceutical industry Code of Practice.
According to KAPI, the newest Code of Practice marks a fundamental shift specifically from a rules-based code to a values-based code while several sections have been updated, including introduction of a ban on gifts and promotional aids for prescription-based medicines.
“It builds on the previous successive years of developing an evolving code of practice in line with global standards espoused by more advanced economies that place a premium on patient safety as a key outcome of professional medical conduct,” said Collins Kotonya, Chairman of the KAPI Ethics and Business Integrity Committee.
The upcoming meeting is expected to move the needle towards a collective commitment by all Kenya’s pharmaceutical and other health sector players to setup a formal mechanism for better behavioral accountability.
In addition, it is expected to draw the participation of delegates from multiple countries including Switzerland, the United States of America, South Africa, Nigeria, Senegal, Cote d’Ivoire, Uganda and Tanzania to name a few.
The delegates include Ethics and Compliance professionals, Medical and scientific advisors and directors, Personnel responsible for the development and certification of promotional materials, and Sales and marketing representatives.
“Conference participants will be professionals within the pharmaceutical industry that are responsible for medical or commercial activities with Healthcare Professionals (HCPs) and Healthcare organizations (HCOs),” KAPI highlighted.
Furthermore, Kenya’s pharmaceutical industry is set to host more than 200 professionals, patient representatives and health providers for the inaugural meeting designed to institute more stringent measures aimed at enhancing the safety of healthcare consumers.
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