2003 SEAM Conference: Targeting Improved Access to Essential Medicines ---------------------------------------------------------------------- Dar es Salaam, United Republic of Tanzania June 16-18, 2003 The 2003 Conference for the Strategies for Enhancing Access to Medicines (SEAM) Program will be held in Dar es Salaam, United Republic of Tanzania, June 16-18, 2003. Funded by the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation and presented in collaboration with the Ministry of Health of the United Republic of Tanzania, the World Health Organizations Department of Essential Drugs and Medicines Policy, the Rockefeller Foundation, the International Network for Rational Use of Drugs, and Management Sciences for Health Rational Pharmaceutical Management Plus Program (funded by USAID), the 2003 Conference will serve as a forum for discussion of a wide range of pharmaceuticals-related intervention strategies that are of concern to developing nations. The conference will also provide the opportunity to share information about the activities of the SEAM Program, which focus on enhancing access to essential medicines through collaboration between the private and public sectors. The conference will feature plenary and parallel track presentations on six major topics, followed by roundtable discussion groups for each topic. Poster presentations will provide the opportunity for conference participants to share information about their initiatives, research, and experience. Parallel topic tracks will include * Pharmaceutical product prices, including country-level determinants, dynamics, monitoring, and policy * Pharmaceutical procurement, including national and cross-national pooled procurement strategies * Pharmaceutical product quality assurance, focusing on strategies for resource-limited settings, including prequalification of products and suppliers and the role of identification (screening) tests and pharmacopoeial monograph testing * Pharmaceutical distribution systems, focusing on strategies for ensuring access to essential medicines in rural and peri-urban areas * Rational use of medicines, including information access, product selection, and appropriate prescribing and patient use * Human resources for the pharmaceutical sector, including new approaches to staffing and training in health product supply management Although the majority of participants will attend the conference by invitation, a number of open registration slots will be available on a first-come, first-served basis. Individuals interested in attending should submit a registration request as early as possible. All registration requests will be placed, in the order received, on the Conference priority list. For further information about the registration process, please visit the SEAM Web site (www.msh.org/seam"http://www.msh.org/seam>www.msh.org/seam) after January 10, 2003. Information on abstract submissions for poster presentations will also be available on the SEAM Web site after January 10. Individuals interested in submitting poster abstracts for consideration by the Program Committee should plan their submissions around one of the six topics listed above and be prepared to submit an abstract by February 28, 2003. For further information on the conference, please contact John Vivalo (mailto: jvivalo@msh.org).