Countries in the East African Community (EAC) benefitted from a capacity building training to equip their key personnel in the medicines regulatory system structures with knowledge in data collection on Monitoring and Evaluation (M&E) indicators related to the African Medicines Regulatory Harmonization (AMRH) M&E Guidelines. The training was organized by NEPAD Agency and the EAC Secretariat and took place in Nairobi, Kenya from 21–23 May 2018.

The main objective of the training was to improve the capacity of countries in the EAC region to monitor AMRH M&E performance indicators and eventually evaluate the outcomes and impact. Eventually, this will contribute to harmonizing and strengthening national regulatory systems for medical products in the region. The data will also be used periodically to determine the status of performance of National Medicines Regulatory Agencies (NMRAs) in the region. In addition, the training is also a step in the right direction towards strengthening existing structures and capacity within member states to collect, collate, analyse and utilise data on the selected AMRH indicators for informing policy and practice.

The data from M&E will be very useful in decision making and also identifying gaps that require special prioritization to advance the medicines regulatory strengthening and harmonization work in the EAC region. During the training, pilot data collected since 2014 in the EAC region was validated and this information will contribute to finalizing the EAC report, as well as highlight available baseline information and data sources for selected AMRH indicators for alignment and harmonisation. Baseline information is critical for tracking impact over time. 

The training was attended by National Medicines Regulatory Officers (NMROs)/M&E focal points from NMRAs. Other representatives from regional bodies participated as observers as follows;, Intergovernmental Authority on Development (IGAD) and Organisation for the Fight against Endemic Diseases in Central Africa (OCEAC).