Belize joins WHO global medicine safety monitoring program

Belize has become a full member of the World Health Organization’s (WHO) Program for International Drug Monitoring (PIDM), a milestone announced on July 27th with support from the Pan American Health Organization (PAHO). The move gives Belize stronger tools to detect safety concerns in medicines and respond more effectively to risks posed by substandard or counterfeit medicines that may enter the country.
The WHO Program for International Drug Monitoring was established in 1968 to systematically collect information on serious adverse drug reactions during drug development and after medicines become available for public use. The program now includes 170 member countries that submit reports of adverse drug reactions to the global VigiBase database. The Uppsala Monitoring Center, one of five WHO Collaborating Centers, manages the program’s technical and scientific operations, including analyzing VigiBase data to identify potential safety issues with medicines.
Belize’s full membership means its national reporting systems are now connected to the WHO’s global database for adverse drug reaction reports, allowing the country to contribute safety data and access international information when medicine-related safety concerns arise.
The achievement follows several years of work by Belize’s Ministry of Health and Wellness to strengthen its national pharmacovigilance system through collaboration between the Drug Inspectorate Unit and the Maternal and Child Health Unit. Belize first joined the program as an associate member in 2020 before developing the reporting systems, data analysis capabilities, and regulatory oversight required for full membership. PAHO provided technical support through training for healthcare workers, improvements to adverse event reporting systems, data exchange, and broader pharmacovigilance capacity building.
Dr. Javier Zuniga of Washington Medical University explained the significance of the milestone during an exclusive interview with The San Pedro Sun on July 29th. “There are companies that manufacture medications without proper quality assurance to verify that the product contains what the label claims,” Zuniga said. “Some manufacturers cut corners by producing medicines that do not contain the correct concentration of active ingredients. In Belize, imported medications must meet specific certification requirements. In the United States, for example, the Food and Drug Administration regulates those standards. There are also many counterfeit medications, particularly from countries such as Pakistan and India. One of the benefits of Belize becoming a full member of the WHO program is that the country can now purchase medications directly through PAHO from WHO-certified suppliers, ensuring the medicines meet international standards while also being available at discounted prices.”
PAHO said the milestone is particularly important because Belize faces an increased risk from medicines that cross international borders, where counterfeit or substandard products may circulate. The organization noted that full membership will help Belize identify and respond more quickly to medicine-related safety concerns while strengthening patient protection. PAHO added that Belize’s progress reflects years of sustained technical cooperation and a shared commitment to improving the quality and safety of health products.
For Belizeans, the achievement means that medicines available throughout the country are now monitored through a global pharmacovigilance network, enabling health authorities to respond more rapidly when safety concerns are determined anywhere in the world.