Title:	Pharmaceutical Policies in Health Systems
Keywords:	Universal health coverage Public Health Health Policy Drugs and vaccines Accessability
Country:	Belgium
Institution:	Belgium - Antwerp Institute of Tropical Medicine
Course coordinator:	Raffaella Ravinetto Belen Tarrafeta
Date start:	2027-06-07
Date end:	2027-06-25
About duration and dates:	Application deadline: 15/01/2027 Number of weeks: 3 weeks
Classification:	advanced optional
Mode of delivery:	Face to face
Course location: Institute of Tropical Medicine (ITM), Nationalestraat 155, 2000 Antwerpen, Belgium
ECTS credit points:	5 ECTS credits
SIT: Contact hours: 90h (49h lectures; 30h group exercises and case studies; 5h individual coaching, 6h presentation and discussion of individual assignments ) Self Study: 45h (25h reading; 20h preparation of assignments) Total SIT: 135 hours
Language:	English
Description: At the end of the module, the student should be able to: 1. Analyze pharmaceutical systems and their sub-components within the broader health system, using appropriate conceptual and analytical frameworks. 2. Assess how pharmaceutical system dysfunctions affect access, equity, quality, appropriate use of health products, patient outcomes, public health goals, and progress towards Universal Health Coverage. 3. Analyse root causes of pharmaceutical system challenges, including governance, regulatory, legal, political, economic, social, and geographic factors. 4. Formulate and justify actionable policies, strategies, or interventions to strengthen pharmaceutical systems from a public health perspective and through a human-rights lens. 5. Apply principles of good governance, transparency, and performance measurement to evaluate pharmaceutical policies from a multidisciplinary perspective. 6. Communicate evidence-based pharmaceutical policy recommendations clearly and effectively to policymakers, technical audiences, and non-specialists.
Assessment Procedures: The assessment is based on an individual assignment in which participants will analyze a pharmaceutical policy relevant to their professional context or area of interest. This may be a national, regional or institutional policy document, a specific section of a broader policy, or a legal, regulatory or strategic text related to medicines or other health products. Participants will assess the policy using concepts and analytical frameworks introduced during the course, with attention to dimensions such as relevance, coherence, feasibility, equity, governance and accountability. Participants will reflect on the design of the specific policy and on future implementation steps. The analysis should identify key strengths, gaps or inconsistencies and translate these findings into evidence-based policy recommendations, fit for the context they apply to. On the final day of the course, participants will present their analysis in a seminar format, simulating a concise policy brief presentation to relevant stakeholders. Each presentation will last approximately 10–15 minutes. Assessment criteria: ● Problem definition and contextual analysis (20%): clarity in defining the policy problem, appropriate scoping, relevant context, and use of credible and adequately formatted references. ● Policy evaluation and analytical rigor (20%): critical assessment of the policy, appropriate use of conceptual frameworks, and consideration of feasibility, implications and trade-offs. ● Coherence of conclusions and recommendations (20%): clear alignment between evidence, findings, conclusions and recommendations, with practical and justified proposed actions. ● Originality, reflection and insight (20%): thoughtful reflection on limitations, equity or ethical issues, future directions, and evidence of original thinking. ● Communication and presentation quality (20%): clear structure, logical flow, appropriate language, effective slides or visuals, and confident oral delivery, Artificial Intelligence statement. Detailed assignment instructions and evaluation criteria are presented in Annex 1 The assessment is marked out of 20 points, with 10/20 as the pass mark. The participants will get feedback by both lecturers and peers. Participants may receive a failing mark in one or more subsections, provided that they achieve an overall passing mark. Resit Policy: If a participant fails the assessment by not reaching the overall pass mark, the student will be allowed one resit. The resit will consist of redoing the individual oral assessment, based on the same assignment unless otherwise recommended by the coach, within two months. The resit may be conducted online.
Content: The course program is organized into three broad thematic blocks,. These blocks are designed to structure the multiple domains involved in Pharmaceutical Public Health. However, they are also interconnected and will be considered across different themes. The first block focuses on policy, accessibility, and quality of health products, providing a technical perspective on the core pillars of a pharmaceutical system. The second block explores affordability and equity, integrating the economic dimension into policymaking within the framework of right to health. The third block addresses the appropriate use of medicines, as well as the social, cultural, and individual factors that influence their acceptance and usage. Specific themes include: Block 1: Policy, accessibility, and quality of health products ● Pharmaceutical systems, policies and governance: organization of the pharmaceutical system within the health system. ● The Essential Medicines concept in pharmaceutical policy. ● Pharmaceutical policy assessment: analytical criteria and frameworks, policy brief development, and translation of findings into actionable recommendations. ● National Regulatory Authorities and Regulatory functions, Regional Initiatives in Regulation, the WHO Global Benchmarking Tool. ● Quality of medicines. The impact of substandard and falsified medical products in global health and public health. ● Policies related to procurement and supply chain management. Adaptation of pharmaceutical management systems to different health objectives. Block 2: Affordability and equity ● Barriers to global access to medicines, market dynamics, market shaping strategies, and ethical obligations. ● The concept of essential medicines, evidence-based selection, and health technology assessments. ● The complexity of financing of health products in public and private health systems. ● Pharmaceutical pricing policies. ● The political economy of equitable access to health technologies ● Human rights and health law in access to medicines Block 3: Appropriate use of medicines, acceptability and appropriateness ● Adequate (rational) use of medicines: historical evolution of the concept, key challenges and limitations, and strategies to promote adequate medicine use. ● Medicine utilisation research: methodological approaches to measuring medicine use, including data sources, indicators, study designs, interpretation, and limitations. ● Pharmacovigilance: safety monitoring, signal detection, risk management, and communication across the medicine life cycle. ● Anthropological perspectives on access to and use of medicines: the social life of medicines, meanings, practices, and relationships shaping medicine use in everyday contexts. ● Short lectures / talks on cross-cutting topics: six sessions each year on selected topics, such as global health, research in access to medicines, antimicrobial resistance research, vaccine acceptance, pharmaceutical waste management, systems approaches to supply, pharmaceutical care, access through informal markets, and the role of civil society in pharmaceutical policies.
Methods: The course combines complementary learning methods according to the topic, expected learning outcomes, and type of competence to be developed. Its pedagogical focus is not only to increase technical knowledge, but also to strengthen participants’ analytical thinking, critical appraisal skills, and capacity to formulate context-sensitive recommendations. Across the course, learning activities are designed to situate access to health products within the broader complexity of pharmaceutical systems, health systems, governance arrangements, and the multiple stakeholders involved. Contact hours amount to 90 hours, consisting of 49 hours of interactive lectures, 30 hours of group exercises, 5 hours of individual coaching, and 6 hours dedicated to the presentation and discussion of individual assignments. The breakdown of hours per topic is included in Annex 2. Interactive lectures introduce key concepts, analytical frameworks, methods, and policy debates. They are not designed as purely didactic sessions: lecturers are expected to encourage discussion, questions, cross-learning, and exchange of professional experience among participants from different disciplinary, institutional, and geographical backgrounds. Group exercises are a distinct learning method from the individual assignment. They are organized during the course to help participants apply the concepts introduced in lectures to concrete situations. Depending on the topic, these exercises may include case studies, policy analysis exercises, role plays, debates, stakeholder mapping, interpretation of evidence or data, and the formulation of practical policy or system-strengthening recommendations. Participants work in small groups and are usually asked to analyse a predefined case, identify the main problem, discuss trade-offs, and present or discuss their conclusions in plenary. These exercises are intended to support peer learning, expose participants to different perspectives, and build analytical skills before they apply similar reasoning individually in their final assignment. The individual assignment is a separate learning and assessment activity. Each participant critically analyses a pharmaceutical policy document relevant to their context or area of interest and translates this analysis into actionable recommendations. This allows participants to apply course concepts independently; to demonstrate their ability to assess a policy issue from an equitable access, pharmaceutical systems, and public health perspective. Individual coaching supports the development of the assignment. Each participant has access to coaching to help define the scope of the work, clarify the analytical approach, structure the argument, and refine the recommendations. Coaching is therefore part of the contact hours and is distinct from self-study time. Final assignment presentations allow participants to practice policy communication, present their analysis and recommendations clearly, receive feedback from lecturers and peers, and critically appraise the work of other participants. In addition, participants are expected to complete 45 hours of self-study, consisting of 25 hours of reading and 20 hours for preparation of the individual assignment. Self-study is independent learning time and includes preparatory readings, review of policy documents, consultation of teaching materials, and individual work on the assignment. Readings, policy documents, and teaching materials are made available through Moodle, the institutional learning management system. The total Student Investment Time is 135 hours.
Prerequisites: The course targets professionals and researchers involved in pharmaceutical health systems, across countries' income level (low-, middle- and high-income) and across sectors (public, private not-for-profit , private-for-profit, etc). Academic degree Applicants must hold of a degree with an equivalent of 240 ECTS at university level in health sciences (medicine, pharmacy, nursing, midwifery), biomedical sciences or other health-related domains, such as medical sociology or health economics, Experience To be admitted to the course, applicants need to have at least 2 years of relevant professional experience in a setting where they are in touch with (components of) the pharmaceutical system at large (e.g. working with the Ministry of Health, health programmes, pharmaceutical programmes, regulatory agencies, NGOs, development cooperation, EU or UN agencies, global health initiatives, academic institutions, procurement and supply chain, health insurance, hospital or community pharmacy, etc). Experience related to the context of global health is considered as an asset, as well as plans to work in/for such contexts. Language proficiency The minimum language requirements are proof of a TOEFL iBT (internet-based test) score of 79-93, an IELTS score of 6.5 or other qualifying evidence of an English CEFR level of B2-C1 meaning a higher tier B2 or C1. A higher tier B2 will generally mean a B2 on all components of language proficiency and would have to be evidenced (ITM Toefl Code = 7727). Native English speakers are exempt from these language requirements. Applicants whose first language is not English are exempt if they have successfully completed a higher education programme of at least 60 ECTS credits taught in English or have a higher education diploma from a Flemish Community higher education institution.
Attendance: Min 12 students; Max 25 students No limit on tropEd students
Selection: Selection criteria Eligible participants are selected on the basis of: ● Relevance of background (degrees and professional/ research experience) ● Potential professional, institutional or social impact of the course (fit with career perspective – apply the acquired skills and broadened network) ● Motivation ● References
Fees: Non-EEA student : €1995 EEA-student and TropEd Msc students with a residence card in an EEA country: € 770
Scholarships: Limited number of fellowships to applicants from low- and middle-income countries are available, with priority given to Belgian Development Cooperation (DGD) partner countries (https://www.itg.be/en/study/scholarships-to-study-at-itm). Academic acceptance in the course is conditional to, but no guarantee for such scholarships. More information can be found on the ITM website (https://www.itg.be/en/study/courses/design-and-evaluation-of-health-programmes/2025-2026?tab=practical-information)
tropEd accreditation: Accredited in Antwerp, in June 2026. This accreditation is valid until June 2031
Remarks: By bringing together trainees and trainers from different regions and disciplines, this course offers a unique opportunity to broaden each one’s professional network, with opportunities for further academic and professional development. Preliminary results from a recent impact survey conducted among PHARMA course alumni from the 2021–2025 cohorts suggest that the course generated positive educational and professional effects. Respondents represented 28 nationalities and were residing in 27 countries at the time of the survey. The results indicate that the course contributed “very much” to improving the respondents’ insight into their professional field (71%); their critical thinking (69%); their professional network (76%); and that they share knowledge gained through the course with colleagues (73%). Two relevant references for the definition and evaluation of the pharmaceutical systems are Hafner T, Walkowiak H, Lee D, Aboagye-Nyame F. Defining pharmaceutical systems strengthening: concepts to enable measurement. Health Policy and Planning. 2017;32(4):572–584.; AND Wirtz VJ, Ravinetto R. Enhancing equitable access to essential medicines and health technologies. In: Siddiqi S, Mataria A, Rouleau KD, Iqbal M, editors. Making Health Systems Work in Low and Middle Income Countries. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press; 2022. p. 320–335.
Email Address:	btarrafeta@itg.be / rravinetto@itg.be
Date Of Record Creation:	2026-06-30 09:07:37 (W3C-DTF)
Date Of Record Release:	2026-06-30 09:25:42 (W3C-DTF)
Date Record Checked:	2026-06-30 (W3C-DTF)
Date Last Modified:	2026-06-30 11:02:21 (W3C-DTF)