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In 2001, the World Health Organization (WHO) began development of the Model Quality Assurance System for Procurement Agencies (MQAS) which sets recommended standards for procurement agencies. In October 2005, following a consultative procedure, the MQAS guideline was adopted by the WHO Expert Committee on Specifications for Pharmaceutical Preparations (ECSPP) and published in 2006 (1).
Procurement agencies (PA) implementing the MQAS recommendations are routinely subject to assessment by customers - in many cases, using the PA's own assessment tools to evaluate the potential service supplier. Due to the variety of standards used in assessment, the WHO-Global Fund (2) Joint Stakeholders meeting held in 2011 identified a need to revise the MQAS and develop a harmonized assessment tool that could be utilized by all. The aim was:
* To achieve a better use of resources.
* To coordinate PA assessments.
* To work towards mutual recognition of PA assessment findings.
A working group was created and comprised representatives of: QUAMED, Institut de Médecine Tropicale, Antwerp, Belgium; Partnership for Supply Chain Management (PFSCM); United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF); Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF); International Dispensary Association (IDA); Crown Agents; Global TB Drug Facility (GDF); Management Sciences for Health (MSH); International Union Against Tuberculosis and Lung Disease; United Nations Office for Project Services (UNOPS); United States Agency for International Development (USAID); International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC), and the Committee for Medicinal Products for Human Use (CHMP).
An independent consultant was appointed in December 2011 to work with the group and the first working group meeting the took place on 12 March 2012. The group recognized the growing success of the MQAS and looked for ways to promote its further use. It was suggested to consolidate the MQAS by focusing on quality assurance aspects and communicating a message on the importance of main-taining quality throughout the supply chain. Development of a harmonized assessment tool would facilitate assessments and outcomes could be shared. This would lead to less duplication of inspection...