Building Capacity of Burma’s Department of Food and Drug Administration

Since 2013, PMI has supported the Department of Food and Drug Administration (DFDA) of Burma’s Ministry of Health through investments in expert technical assistance, capacity building of staff, and specialized equipment. PMI support combined with Burma’s strong country ownership and commitment have resulted in great and long-lasting success.

PMI’s investments led to the national drug testing laboratory achieving ISO 17025 accreditation in December 2016, earlier than  expected. This accreditation by the American National

Accreditation Board (ANAB) makes the DFDA laboratory the first drug testing laboratory in Southeast Asia to earn ANAB certification, and signals the country’s commitment to ensuring accurate drug quality testing. The ISO accreditation helps DFDA provide high-quality testing and surveillance to prevent counterfeit and substandard medicines from threatening the effectiveness of current antimalarial treatments or causing drug resistance. These efforts send a clear signal to the global pharmaceutical market that the country is serious about protecting drug quality.