WHO recognizes Korean drug safety management

The Korea Institute of Drug Safety and Risk Management wins the 2018 United Arab Emirates Health Foundation Prize for outstanding contributions to drug safety and health development at the World Health Assembly in Geneva, Switzerland. Courtesy of Ministry of Food and Drug Safety

By Lee Kyung-min

The Korea Institute of Drug Safety and Risk Management (KIDS) won the 2018 United Arab Emirates Health Foundation Prize, the World Health Organization (WHO) said. The institute, set up under the Ministry of Food and Drug Safety in 2012, became the first Korean awardee since the prize was established in 1993. Out of nine candidates, the foundation reached a unanimous decision to give the award to KIDS for its continued work in raising awareness of drug safety issues, supporting evidence-based decisions on drug safety and providing accurate drug information, thereby increasing public safety.

WHO recognized KIDS contribution on effective, comprehensive data management on adverse side effects of drug intake through regular reports made with Uppsala Monitoring Center (UMC) under WHO. Korea's pharmacovigilance system, which monitors the effects of drugs, operates 27 regional centers, from which KIDS gathers data, the analyses of which provides the ministry with statistics, safety information and reports of all adverse effects. The data feeds into Vigibase, a global database managed by the WHO Program for International Drug Monitoring.

The ministry requires swift reporting upon any drug-related irregularities, based on which necessary measures follow, including changes to drugs' earlier approval for sale, recalls or market withdrawals as well as investigations or inspections into the determination of causes. The collected information is made available to doctors, pharmacists, consumers and relevant organizations.

The prize, given to an individual, institution or nongovernmental organization that has made an outstanding contribution to health development, is a highly recognized honor alongside the Dr. Lee Jong-wook Memorial Prize for Public Health. It is given for work going beyond the performance of duties normally expected of an official of a government or intergovernmental institution. Lee, a former WHO director-general worked on a variety of projects including the Global Programme for Vaccines and Immunizations and Stop Tuberculosis, was the first Korean to lead an international agency.

Dr. Nazni Wasi Ahmad from Malaysia was awarded the Dr. Lee Jong-wook Memorial Prize for Public Health for her innovative research using maggots to treat diabetic ulcers. Her research showed maggots, had therapeutic use to clear and expedite the healing of wounds and foot ulcers caused by diabetes. The maggots remove dead tissue and secrete antimicrobial substances that fight infection and promote healing. The award came amid a global increase in the number of people diagnosed with diabetes, with diabetic foot ulcers remaining a serious but relatively common complication. If these wounds are not properly treated and become infected, especially with antibiotic-resistant bacteria, it could result in increased risks of affected limb amputation.

The agency said Dr. Ahmad's method is effective, affordable, simple and available at any time and in any health-care setting, including small local clinics in Malaysia, where around 6 percent of the patients attending diabetic outpatient facilities develop foot ulcers. Foot complications account for 12 percent of all diabetes hospital admissions. The therapy, she said, is in practice in health clinics in most districts in Malaysia, including hard-to-reach areas where socially and geographically disadvantaged groups live, preventing limb amputation in diabetic patients in health clinics.

Each year, at the World Health Assembly held at Geneva, Switzerland, prizes are given to recognize expertise and accomplishments in public health.

The prizes have been established either in the name of eminent health professionals and international figures or by prominent foundations committed to supporting international and global public health. Nominations are submitted by national health administrations and former prize recipients and reviewed by specialized selection panels of each of the foundations that award a prize. The WHO Executive Board, in its January session, designates the winners based on recommendations made by the selection panels.