Support for the pharmaceutical curriculum at the University of Lomé

— Togo —

BACKGROUND

Despite a life expectancy of 63 years of age, higher than the average in sub-Saharan Africa, Togo suffers from high rates of maternal and infant mortality. The government responded to this situation in 2010 by joining the International Health Partnership and related initiatives (IHP+), then by unveiling the 2012-2015 National Health Development Plan. Among the objectives was strengthening the national pharmaceutical system and its drug management capabilities.

This substantial political will, boosted by the presence of key personalities at the University of Lomé, led Fondation Pierre Fabre to support the pharmaceutical curriculum of the Joint Faculty of Medicine and Pharmacy. When the Foundation first undertook this project in 2011, there was no dedicated faculty for this course material: the classes were given by professors from the Faculty of Science and speakers from Senegal and Burkina Faso.

With help from its scientific advisor, Jean Cros, and Senegalese, Burkinabe and French academics, the Pierre Fabre Foundation first assessed the educational content. Overall, taking into account local health needs, the team updated and expanded the content of the pharmaceutical disciplines in chemistry, pharmacology, toxicology and pharmaceutical technology, respecting the educational syllabus deliberated by the ECOWAS for the whole of West Africa. It was a lengthy process first begun in 2011, only to be completed at the end of 2015.

KEY FACTS
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Priority
Training of drugs specialists

Programme
Since 2011

Type of involvement
Distributor and operator

Actions

  • Renovation funding and project management
  • Instructional design (revised syllabus, creation of laboratory work)
  • Funding and organisation of teaching assignments
  • Funding of scientific and educational materials
  • Scholarship funding

Université de Lomé – Faculté Mixte de Médecine et de Pharmacie
Boulevard Gnassingbé Eyadema
BP 1515
LOME
TOGO
http://univ-lome.tg

      Photo report produced at the Faculty of Health Sciences in Lomé in December 2018:

The creation of laboratory work became central to this new curriculum, so that future pharmacists could actually practice the procedures essential to their training. In parallel, the Foundation has been funding and coordinating the facilities’ renovation and improved equipment. Lastly, it arranged teaching assignments of French academics to train new trainers.

The class of 2013-2014 was the first to take advantage of these advancements. In the medium term, it should meet the government’s objectives of training teachers to international standards, generating drug professionals able to hold positions across all of Togo’s healthcare system and overseeing the quality of drugs that are distributed across the region.

In 2018, the Fondation renewed this partnership for a five-year consolidation period, in part to create a dedicated, high-level faculty. Four new instructors began their work at the end of the year, five assistants received scholarships to pursue a master’s or doctorate, and teaching missions were organised to compensate for a lack of instructors in certain subjects, like galenical pharmacology or organic chemistry. The Foundation also funded creation of new laboratory classwork in phytochemistry, galenical pharmacology and pharmacology.

The support we receive from Fondation Pierre Fabre is critical to our faculty. We are taking full advantage of the Foundation’s experience, proven over many years in Asia and Madagascar. This makes building a productive and positive partnership possible.”

Pr François Gado Napo-Koura
Former Vice-Dean of the Faculty of Health Sciences at the University of Lomé in charge of pharmacy. Appointed Secretary General for Health at the Ministry of Health in Togo in 2014.

Future initiatives

The Fondation Pierre Fabre supports a new five-year program (2018-2022) aimed at strengthening the teaching staff, consolidating the Pharmacy Sector and providing technical and scientific support for teaching.

PARTNERS

See also

Creation of the Master Mekong Pharma

To increase the number of drug specialists in Southeast Asia, Fondation Pierre Fabre created the Master Mekong Pharma, a Masters of Pharmaceutical Sciences programme. The first class was recruited in 2012.

27/07/2018

See also

Follow our actions

A Hanoi Event Dedicated to Pharmacists and Drug Quality

On 11 December 2019, in Vietnam’s capital of Hanoi, the students of the sixth and final Master Mékong Pharma class were awarded their degrees and a new cooperation programme was announced. To mark the occasion, a special presentation was made on the pharmacist’s role in drug quality assurance Training pharmacists in the Global South is a top public-health priority that the Fondation Pierre Fabre has chosen to support over the long term

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