Washington DC, USA, August 7, 2025 – Barbados is moving forward with its industrial policy to increase local production capacity of medicines and health technologies by strengthening its national regulatory system.
With technical support from the Pan American Health Organization (PAHO/WHO), the country is conducting an assisted self-benchmarking exercise using the World Health Organization (WHO) Global Benchmarking Tool (GBT) and reviewing its regulatory functions alongside a clinical trials training webinar.
A team of PAHO’s Medicines and Health Technologies (IMT) Department conducted a mission to support the country in aligning its regulatory practices with international standards using WHO’s GBT. The GBT is a standardized WHO methodology used to assess the performance of national regulatory systems for medical products. It identifies strengths and areas for improvement across regulatory functions such as marketing authorization, pharmacovigilance, and clinical trial oversight, and supports the development of institutional roadmaps for regulatory strengthening.
During the mission, PAHO worked with the national regulatory authority to review regulatory functions and conduct a clinical trials training webinar. The session brought together over 20 stakeholders, including regulators, researchers, and academics, and focused on the roles of regulatory authorities and ethics committees in clinical trial oversight.
A high-level meeting led by the Minister of Health and Wellness, Senator Dr. The Most Honourable Jerome Walcott, addressed next steps in implementing the national roadmap for regulatory system strengthening and discussed opportunities to improve access to health technologies and expand local production.
Barbados continues to lead by example in the Caribbean Region, prioritizing regulatory excellence and equitable access to health products. PAHO remains a dedicated partner, providing technical cooperation and long-term support to the Government of Barbados in building resilient health systems.
This effort is part of PAHO’s broader mandate to support Member States in strengthening national regulatory systems, a public health priority in the Region of the Americas. Strong regulatory systems contribute to ensuring the safety, efficacy, and quality of medical products, supports local production, addresses supply chain vulnerabilities, and improves preparedness for health emergencies.
