Georgetown, July 21, 2025 – Guyana is moving forward in the implementation of VigiFlow as its national pharmacovigilance platform with support from the Pan American Health Organization (PAHO/WHO). This decision will enable the health system to consolidate, analyze, and respond more efficiently to adverse events related to medicines and vaccines, thereby strengthening patient safety. This initiative also aligns Guyana with international health surveillance standards and contributes to ensuring safer access to medicines for the entire population.
The decision is the result of a long-term collaboration with the Department of Innovation, Access to Medicines, and Health Technologies (IMT) of PAHO, which began with a workshop to evaluate various technological solutions for improving adverse event reporting. During this process, VigiFlow was identified as the most suitable tool for the country’s needs.
VigiFlow is a web-based tool developed by the Uppsala Monitoring Centre (UMC) to manage adverse events related to medicines and vaccines. It is used by regulatory authorities as a national pharmacovigilance platform. It stands out for complying with international standards such as ICH E2B, MedDRA, and WHODrug, and for facilitating the structured collection, validation, and analysis of data. Additionally, it allows integration of reports from multiple sources and is directly connected to VigiBase, the global database of adverse event reports.
Through technical and institutional collaboration between the Government Analyst Food and Drug Department, the Ministry of Health of Guyana, PAHO/WHO, and UMC, technical sessions were held to assess the system’s feasibility and address key aspects of its implementation in the country.
Recently, Guyana signed a formal agreement between its Ministry of Health and the Uppsala Monitoring Centre for the integration of VigiFlow. In the coming months, Guyana plans to move forward with the system’s technical configuration, team training, and a phased implementation that will begin with pilot tests and culminate in a nationwide rollout. Monitoring and evaluation phases are also planned to ensure the system’s long-term sustainability.
This initiative, supported by PAHO, strengthens Guyana’s regulatory capacities and contributes to ensuring safer access to medicines. It also lays the foundation for more active participation in regional and global pharmacovigilance initiatives.
