WHO Drug Information Vol. 23, No. 1, 2009 - World Health ...

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WHO Drug Information Vol 23, No. 1, 2009Herbal and Traditional MedicinesBeijing Declaration (continued)Recognizing traditional medicine as one of the resources of primary health careservices to increase availability and affordability and to contribute to improvehealth outcomes including those mentioned in the Millennium DevelopmentGoals.Recognizing that Member States have different domestic legislation, approaches,regulatory responsibilities and delivery models.Noting that progress in the field of traditional medicine has been obtained in anumber of Member States through implementation of the WHO TraditionalMedicine Strategy 2002-2005.Expressing the need for action and cooperation by the international community,governments, and health professionals and workers, to ensure proper use oftraditional medicine as an important component contributing to the health of allpeople, in accordance with national capacity, priorities and relevant legislation.In accordance with national capacities, priorities, relevant legislation and circumstances,hereby make the following Declaration:I. The knowledge of traditional medicine, treatments and practices should berespected, preserved, promoted and communicated widely and appropriatelybased on the circumstances in each country.II. Governments have a responsibility for the health of their people and shouldformulate national policies, regulations and standards, as part of comprehensivenational health systems to ensure appropriate, safe and effective use of traditionalmedicine.III. Recognizing the progress of many governments to date in integrating traditionalmedicine into their national health systems, we call on those who have notyet done so to take action.IV. Traditional medicine should be further developed based on research andinnovation in line with the “Global strategy and plan of action on public health,innovation and intellectual property” adopted at the Sixty-first World HealthAssembly in resolution WHA61.21 in 2008. Governments, international organizationsand other stakeholders should collaborate in implementing the globalstrategy and plan of action.V. Governments should establish systems for the qualification, accreditation orlicensing of traditional medicine practitioners. Traditional medicine practitionersshould upgrade their knowledge and skills based on national requirements.VI. The communication between conventional and traditional medicine providersshould be strengthened and appropriate training programmes be established forhealth professionals, medical students and relevant researchers.11
WHO Drug Information Vol 23, No. 1, 2009Biomedicines UpdateGlobal norms and standards forbiological quality, safety and efficacyWHO Expert Committee on Biological StandardizationEstablished in 1947, the Expert Committee on Biological Standardization (ECBS) isone of the longest standing World Health Organization (WHO) committees and hasoverall responsibility for setting written standards and establishing reference preparationmaterials. Standards developed through the ECBS relate to the productionand quality control of safe and effective biological products. They provide guidancefor national regulatory authorities and manufacturers and serve as the standard forprequalification of vaccines for supply to countries through international agencies.Reference preparation materials are available from designated WHO laboratoriesand provide the basis for comparison of materials used in biologicals worldwide.Members of the ECBS are scientists from national control agencies, academia, researchinstitutes and public health bodies. These scientists act as individual expertsand not as representatives of their respective organizations or employers. The decisionsand recommendations of the ECBS are based entirely on scientific principlesand public health considerations.The ECBS reports directly to the WHO Executive Board, which is the executive armof the World Health Assembly. The outcome of each ECBS meeting is subsequentlypublished in a technical report. This report provides updated information on standardsfor assuring the quality, safety and efficacy of biological products as well as onthe establishment of new or updated WHO international standards for designatingthe activity of biological substances. ECBS technical reports are available at:http://www.who.int/biologicals/publications/trs/en/index.htmlHighlights of the2008 ECBS meetingBiological medical products such asvaccines, blood products, biotherapeuticsand associated diagnostics save lives,reduce suffering and improve health, butonly if these products and technologiesare of good quality, are safe, effective,available, affordable and properly used.WHO is working with it’s Member Statesto use only biological medicines ofassured quality in national health systems.The WHO Expert Committee on BiologicalStandardization (ECBS) establishesglobal norms and standards that helpdefine products of assured quality. TheECBS meets annually and their mostrecent meeting was held in Geneva from13 to 17 October 2008. During the meeting,57 agenda items were considered.This was accomplished, as in previousyears, by running two parallel tracks, onededicated to vaccines and selected otherbiological medicines; one dedicated toblood products and related in vitro diagnosticdevices.12
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