Pharmacovigilance is defined as the science and activities relating to the detection, assessment, understanding and prevention of adverse effects or any other drug-related problems. The concept of pharmacovigilance is borne out of the recognition that no medicine is completely risk-free.

The specific aims of pharmacovigilance are to:

• improve patient care and safety in relation to the use of medicines and all medical and paramedical interventions,
• improve public health and safety in relation to the use of medicines,
• contribute to the assessment of benefit, harm, effectiveness and risk of medicines, encouraging their safe, rational and more effective (including cost-effective) use, and
• promote understanding, education and clinical training in pharmacovigilance and its effective communication to the public.

Source: The Importance of Pharmacovigilance, WHO 2002

MCAZ houses the National Pharmacovigilance Centre which participates in the WHO Programme for International Drug Monitoring

The Authority wishes to notify stakeholders of the addition of several new methods of submitting Adverse Drug Reaction (ADR) reports, Serious Adverse Events (SAE) reports for clinical trials, Adverse Events Following Immunisation (AEFI) reports and SAE reports from pharmaceutical industry I E2B format.

The new methods include use of the Android Mobile App, Apple iOs Mobile App, Windows Desktop App, MacOs Desktop App, Linux Desktop App, as well as the Browser-Based Web App. These can be accessed from the respective links on this page.