Who we are
Our mission
QUALITY MEDICINE FOR ALL
QUAMED is a not-for-profit association with a mission to improve access to quality medicines for all.
QUAMED was formed in 2010 under the auspices of the Institute of Tropical Medicine (ITM) in Antwerp with funding from the Belgian Government. Since 2017 QUAMED is an independent, not-for-profit association, initially based in France, and now based in Belgium.
QUAMED is a global membership organization that brings together international Non-Governmental Organizations (NGOs), pharmaceutical procurement centers, and engaged individuals focused on assuring the quality of medicines delivered in low- and middle-income countries
QUAMED has developed the Quality Certification Program (QCP). Through the QCP we are offering wholesalers and manufacturers an opportunity to apply for a QUAMED QCP Certification.
Our QCP uses the technical criteria and standards as a set and defined by the WHO to assess the pharmaceutical quality systems of wholesalers and manufacturers.
Our QCP certification will reward a wholesaler’s commitment to meet WHO standards and contribute to positively shaping the market to favour quality medicines. Importantly, we anticipate that wholesalers and manufacturers benefiting from a formal QUAMED QCP certification will be more likely to gain access to be selected by quality-minded purchasers.
Our goals and strategy
QUAMED is a North/South network, engaged to facilitate sharing of reliable information. We seek to foster learning and drive synergies by pooling skills and resources, both human and financial.
QUAMED leads the technical operationalization of tools that enable procurement agencies, development partners, and donors to respond to immediate needs for Quality Assurance of medicines while anchoring good practice.
By bridging international Quality Assurance norms and standards with the work of NGOs in the field, QUAMED helps to ensure that those norms and standards translate concretely to the delivery of quality medicines to patients – including in settings where implementing partners may struggle to do so.
QUAMED works in complement to and in partnership with ongoing efforts to strengthen regulatory systems, notably the Global Benchmarking Tool, in the context of work plans directed by local regulatory authorities
QUAMED works as much as possible with donor agencies to convince them to put in place a clear and binding pharmaceutical quality assurance policy for the health products they are funding.
Our charter
Any member of the association adheres to the QUAMED Charter and considers access to quality essential drugs as a human right, universal and inalienable. QUAMED and its members commit themselves therefore to make every effort to improve procurement practices in the pharmaceutical industry and to participate in a wider awareness of the problem. QUAMED is not involved in any manufacturing activity, distribution or sales of drugs.
Our team
Quamed members (individuals and organisations) have extensive experience in the pharmaceutical, drug regulation and drug supply sectors in non-governmental organizations, international organizations and other institutions. They have worked, and continue to practice, in a wide variety of geographical and socio-economic contexts (Western Europe, Africa, Asia, Latin America and Eastern Europe) in collaboration with organizations such as WHO, the Global Fund, UNICEF, UNITAID and large number of international NGOs and purchasing organisations.
In addition to the members, QUAMED has a network of external specialists that can be mobilized for consultations, technical support, physical or remote training sessions and other quality assurance-related activities.
Operational team
The QUAMED operational team is multifunctional and combines experience and knowledge from different fields: regulatory issues, pharmacy, economics, management, accounting, purchasing and supply chain management, quality assurance, administration, and communication.
Anthony has the overall responsibility of QUAMED’s quality assurance policy. He has a doctorate in Pharmaceutical Sciences and a master degree in Total Quality Management and Biotechnologies, both from the University of Angers (France). He has extensive experience working in GMP environment and is particularly experienced in conducting MQAS and GSDP audits. He also provides technical assistance in various public health projects. He has worked for a variety of organisations (NGOs, UN, private sector) in a large number of countries.
Urukundo Angelo is an experienced Program Manager with a demonstrated history of working in the Digital Marketing industry. Skilled in creative and leadership management. A Bachelor’s degree focused on Mass Communication/Media Studies from Mount Kenya University, located in Rwanda. Angelo is comfortable and interested in learning about everything Tech and marketing-related. His passion for technology inspires him to always look for the next best thing.
Ed Vreeke is a Canadian national. He has experience related to essential generic medicines and medical supplies is in the following fields: procurement and supply systems organisation, management, monitoring and evaluation, general management and organisation of Central Medical Stores, strategic and policy issues, business plan development, transitioning from government to independent organisation, development, organisation and management of tender processes, the conception of revolving medicine funds, performance-based financing systems, costing analysis.
Laurine is a pharmacist with a degree in public health and a master’s degree in economic analysis and international development. She has worked in France and internationally, in the humanitarian and development sector, with a multitude of national and international organisations (UNDP, Expertise France, AFD, GIZ, MSF, various Ministries of Health and central purchasing agencies).
Hugo Agostinho is Portuguese and has an academic background in Chemical and Industrial Engineering. He worked with a multitude of international organisations, including MSF and Gavi, across multiple African and Asian countries, and in various sectors such as Logistics, Immunisation Supply Chain, and Water and Sanitation. He works with a focus on Program and Project Management, Monitoring, Evaluation, and learning, as well as continuous improvement.
Most recently, he collaborated with Gavi in the design and coordination of an evaluation of the implementation of a project to introduce a Refrigerated Vehicle for the Transportation of Vaccines (RVTV).
He also regularly advises the international NGO People in Need on the development and continued expansion of SMART indicators for the IndiKit database of humanitarian aid and development projects.
Yoro is an expert in international development issues, enriched by his professionalism in business administration, in strict compliance with national laws and the policies and interests of the organisation. He is effective in project management and has strong skills in planning and evaluating stakeholder interventions to accurately measure results and impacts. His strong knowledge of financial mapping enables him to implement training and business development strategies.
In terms of his academic background, he holds a master’s degree in education from UCAD, as well as a bachelor’s and master’s degree in business administration from the University of Sherbrooke.
Washington Dengu is a distinguished pharmaceutical and regulatory affairs expert with over 15 years of experience shaping the public health landscape across Africa. His career spans senior consultant leadership roles at continental bodies like AUDA-NEPAD [AMRH] and the WHO [Afro & HQ], SADC (Zazibona) as well as hands-on national experience in Zimbabwe, driving initiatives aligned with Africa’s Agenda 2063.
As the Continental GMP Coordinator for the African Medicines Regulatory Harmonisation (AMRH) Program at AUDA-NEPAD, where he is at the forefront of operationalizing the African Medicines Agency (AMA). He developed the continental Playbook of inspections procedures and guidelines and coordinated the AMRH pilot GMP inspections for biological products and vaccines, and has trained over 400 regulators across the continent on a quarterly basis. His expertise is further demonstrated by his role as a Managing Director in industry where he led the design, construction, validation, and licensing of a new local pharmaceutical plant in Zimbabwe, successfully commercializing over 20 products within 2 years of licensing.
A recognized thought leader, Washington has co-authored pivotal WHO guidance documents on mainstreaming antimicrobial resistance (AMR) in pharmaceutical production and waste management. His work has been instrumental in strengthening regulatory systems, setting the ground to achieving critical accreditations like WHO Maturity Level 3 for Zimbabwe, and promoting local production through pioneering guidance for greenfield pharmaceutical factories and compliance roadmaps for existing facilities.
As a PhD Candidate in Strategic Management, Washington combines deep practical experience with academic rigor, offering a unique perspective on regulatory harmonization, Good Manufacturing Practices, and capacity building. He brings a powerful combination of strategic foresight and proven execution capabilities to champion Africa’s mission for self-reliant health security.
Board of Directors
The Board of Directors is made up of recognised professionals with extensive international experience in quality and access to medicines.
Cecile Macé is a public health pharmacist with a degree in tropical diseases. Her main skills are procurement, quality assurance of health products, and access and rational use of medicines. She has worked in Africa for more than ten years and has worked with MSF, the International Union Against Tuberculosis, WHO, and UNDP, among others.
Daniel is the Head of Global Health at a London-based innovation foundation called Nesta. He is a founding member of Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF) Access to Medicines Campaign, where quality assurance of pharmaceuticals and diagnostics is a key element. Prior to moving to London, he was a full-time consultant to the WHO in Ethiopia on a government project to support local pharmaceutical companies, including GMP. Prior to that, he was managing director of MSF Southern Africa, based in Johannesburg.
Daniel Vandenbergh is a public health pharmacist, with more than 30 years of experience in various technical domains related to public health, PSM (Procurement and Supply Management) and LMIS (Logistics Management Information Systems). He has an in-depth knowledge of French-speaking African countries, both in Western and Central Africa, but has worked also in several English-speaking African countries (Zimbabwe, Liberia, Malawi). He also implemented missions in Asia (Lebanon, India, Cambodia).
Melanie is a public health professional with 17 years of experience supporting programs in Africa, Asia and the Middle East. She has been the Global Health and Nutrition Director for Relief International since early 2020. Prior to that she has worked in a range of public health roles including for MERLIN and CARE International, and as a part-time consultant for the WHO.
Dr Patrick Lukulay is a globally recognised leader in the area of pharmaceutical QA. He holds a PhD in Analytical Chemistry. He is a public health professional and a pharmaceutical scientist with many years of experience working in the pharmaceutical industry. He has worked with Pfizer Inc. as a Senior Principal Scientist where he led teams to develop methods and specifications for the development of new drug candidates, and with Wyeth Research as Senior Research Scientist where he led a team of analytical scientists to support drug discovery efforts. As a former director and vice president at United States Pharmacopeia, he led the USAID-funded Promoting the Quality of Medicines Program where he oversaw the growth of the program to build the capacity of regulatory authorities and pharmaceutical companies in developing countries including South East Asia, Latin America, and Sub-Saharan Africa. He has recently founded Technology Solutions for Global Health (Tech4Health), in Ghana intending to increase the competitiveness of the African pharmaceutical industry in manufacturing quality-assured medicines. His greatest achievements include serving on the US National Academy of Medicine committee to assess the state of drug and regulation quality globally.
Dr Ouedrago has considerable experience in strengthening the pharmaceutical system in the regulation, supply and management of pharmaceutical facilities. He was part of the fight against the Ebola Virus outbreak in Guinea as an epidemiological pharmacist in charge of managing the supply chain of health products in emergencies. He has worked for the WHO/Burkina country office (2013-2018). He has provided support for the development of pharmaceutical policies, strategic supply plans, quality assurance plans for health products, and pharmacovigilance development plans in 23 countries, including Côte d’Ivoire, Burkina Faso, Benin, Chad, Mali, Senegal, Niger, DRC and Guinea. He currently provides support to countries with the collaboration of the WHO Communicable Diseases Unit. Since August 2018, he has covered 13 priority and 8 non-priority francophone countries until January 2021. Currently, he is providing technical assistance to 7 priority and 8 non-priority countries.
The QUAMED Technical Advisory Group (TAG)
The QUAMED Technical Advisory Group is a consultative body and a “space” for technical discussion on issues related the QUAMED technical activities. Its mission is to advise and guide QUAMED’s Board of Directors and the operational team. The QUAMED Technical Advisory Group can be solicited by a QUAMED Operational team member or a QUAMED Board of Director member. All questions or requests are communicated to the relevant advisors.
Check our Quality Certification Program or read about our emphasis on quality