Background A stable, well-functioning and integrated national medicines regulatory system is a core component of health systems resilient against infectious disease outbreaks. In many low- and middle-income countries, however, sizable gaps exist in the emergency preparedness framework of national regulatory authorities (NRAs). RegTrain-VaccTrain is a project of Germany Ministry of Health’s Global Health Protection Programme that contributes to global efforts aimed at strengthening such regulatory systems by providing technical support and advice to partner NRAs. In this study, we probed the outputs of our capacity-strengthening activities for clinical trials oversight (CTO) to take stock of progress made and examine remaining priorities in order to provide specialized technical assistance in addressing them to improve operational readiness for emergencies. Method Data validated from NRA self-benchmarking results in 2017 and worksheet records of November 2021 were utilized to assess the emergency preparedness capacity for CTO in three VaccTrain partner NRAs (Liberia, Sierra Leone, The Gambia) before and after interventional capacity-strengthening partnership, using specific public health emergency-related (sub-)indicators of the WHO Global Benchmarking Tool. Results A generally weak and vulnerable structural framework for CTO characterized the emergency preparedness capacity in all three partner NRAs at baseline, thus putting their operational readiness for public health emergencies at risk. VaccTrain’s collaborative work was successful at supporting individual NRAs to develop the full spectrum of operational structures (including (draft) regulations, guidelines, and standard operating procedures) required to improve regulatory preparedness. A gap in the formal approval and implementation of developed legal documents in two of three NRAs still remains. Notwithstanding, a robust emergency framework now exists and the NRAs stand better prepared to respond to (future) locally-concerning health emergencies, during which time clinical trials activity was observed to heighten. Conclusions These results exemplify a north-south capacity-strengthening partnership model that effectively contributes in developing structures to enhance regulatory oversight and support expeditious product development in response to crises. They further underscore the equally critical role local/national processes play in facilitating the full implementation of developed structures.

BackgroundDevelopment of safe and efficacious medicines in many sub-Sahara African countries remains hampered due to fragmented health research infrastructure and ineffective regulatory oversight. To boost the latter in the area of Clinical Trials (CT) Oversight (CTO), many international programs and Regional Centers for Regulatory Excellence (RCORE) initiatives offer various trainings to help strengthen human resource capacity. Here, we aimed at evaluating the training outcomes (at home-institution level) of sponsored fellows for one of such capacity strengthening interventions; a measure that is less often reported and thus remains poorly understood.MethodThe Global Health Protection Programme's VaccTrain project sponsored nine regulatory staff from eight National Medicines Regulatory Authorities (NMRAs) in sub-Saharan Africa for the RCORE CT Training Fellowship by FDA Ghana in a particular year. Using a systematized evaluation framework based on the theory of change, we assessed the individual- and NMRA-level achievement of pre-defined training outcomes. For this purpose, data was collected at pre-training and at short- and long-term evaluation time-points using a survey instrument.ResultsAt pre-training, our data revealed existence of differential expectations and orientations among the training participants, thus providing an early indication of potential distinctive patterns in achievement of desired training outcomes. In a short-term post-training follow-up evaluation, a two-group clustering of fellows based on the achievement of training outcomes where only one group (representing 44%) reported achievement of CTO-related outcomes was observed. At this time-point, achievement of training outcomes was associated with the vibrancy of CT activity and existence of a comprehensive technical structure for CTO. In a further long-term follow-up evaluation, our data revealed a successful achievement of CTO-related individual- and/or institutional-level outcomes in all but one fellow. Here again, availability of a robust technical structure for CTO (and perhaps fellow affiliation/selection)–but not CT vibrancy–showed a trend of temporal association with achievement of training outcomes.ConclusionGiven the pivotal role operational structures of international standards at home institutions play in translating training-acquired knowledge into measurable CTO-related outcomes, we encourage that capacity strengthening projects aimed at achieving health-related targets of Sustainable Development Goals adopt an approach built on this foundation.