The First Eastern Mediterranean Region/Arab Countries Meeting of Pharmacovigilance

With many drugs coming to market and post-marketing surveillance limited to industry, there is a need for an integrated common approach to pharmacovigilance (PV) in the Eastern Mediterranean Region (EMR)/Arab region. The first meeting of the EMR/Arab countries for PV involved ten of the 22 states and revealed how these countries are learning from and working with each other in order to achieve this common approach. The aims of the meeting included highlighting challenges that could be overcome only by working as a team and setting the foundations for future PV centre work in the EMR/Arab region. The outcomes from the meeting showed that there is a need for a collaborative effort to provide a common structure, system and framework in order to establish an integrated PV system across the EMR/Arab world.