The following areas were identified and recommended for regional collaboration between schools of pharmacy in Southern and Eastern Africa:

• a network should be set up for all Workshop participants. The Pharmacy Department, University of Zimbabwe, was nominated to host an e-mail conference/discussion group on pharmaceutical education in the region;

• each school of pharmacy in the region should make information available about its current pharmacy training programmes. Each school is encouraged to put information on a web site;

• participants should organize seminars to brief other staff members about this Workshop and to sensitize them to the regional harmonization process of UPC;

• the Workshop report should be circulated to all schools of pharmacy and pharmacy technician programmes in the region;

• training of pharmacy teachers should cover course outcomes, and teaching and assessment methods. Links should be made between pharmacy schools to share ideas regarding teaching and assessment methods. These training courses could last between two and four years. WHO may sponsor these courses in order to continue to strengthen UPC development in Southern and Eastern Africa;

• students/graduates should be involved in UPC development and harmonization processes;

• common priority areas or themes for teaching (e.g., rational drug use, the essential medicines concept, drug regulatory affairs and pharmaceutical care) should be identified;

• joint research projects should be promoted, particularly in the field of pharmaceutical education. Schools of pharmacy should be encouraged to make their student projects and staff research publications available on their web sites;

• specific areas such as traditional medicines/natural products should be included in UPC;

• an Association of Southern and Eastern African Schools of Pharmacy should be established to strengthen collaboration. The University of Khartoum, Sudan, expressed its willingness to host a meeting at which the Association can be set up. Financial requirements for maintaining an Association should be further investigated;

• new schools of pharmacy in the region should indicate their needs so that adequate support can be mobilized within the region and outside.