The Good Governance for Medicines (GGM) assessment was undertaken to measure the extent of vulnerability to corruption in Zambia’s pharmaceutical sector, using a WHO standardized assessment tool. The assessment focused on the following six essential regulatory and supply functions: medicine registration, promotion, inspection, selection, procurement and distribution.

In 2004, the World Health Organization (WHO) introduced the GGM programme in an attempt to curb corruption in the pharmaceutical sector. The programme’s goal is to reduce corruption in pharmaceutical sector systems through the application of transparent, accountable, administrative procedures and the promotion of ethical practices among health professionals. The programme focuses on improving pharmaceutical systems through the consistent application of two complementary strategies: discipline-and values-based strategies.

The six pharmaceutical functions listed above were assessed between 15th October and 3rd December 2007. On 17th and 18th July 2008, a national stakeholders’ workshop discussed the findings of the assessment and adopted the assessment report with amendments and recommendations. The assessment revealed that registration, inspection, procurement and distribution were marginally vulnerable, while promotion and selection were moderately vulnerable to corruption. Areas of concern included, among others, conflict of interest (COI) not being declared. Overall there is a marginal degree of vulnerability (score 6.92) in the governance of the medicines system in Zambia, which could become worse if certain issues are not addressed...