Meet Abbie Barry, PhD: WHO Consultant Advancing Public Health in Africa
Abbie Barry is a public health specialist and project manager with extensive expertise in pharmacovigilance, public health epidemiology, and disease control. She currently works as a consultant for the World Health Organization (WHO) Regional Office for Africa, where she focuses on conducting desk research and epidemiological analysis to identify strategic investment areas and develop targeted interventions aimed at reducing the disease burden across the African continent.
Barry holds a PhD in Medical Science, specializing in Pharmacovigilance system strengthening, and a Master's in Public Health Epidemiology from the Karolinska Institutet in Sweden. She was among five PhD students who completed their doctoral training at Karolinska Institutet under the PROFORMA project, led by Professor Eleni Aklillu. Her thesis, “Pharmacovigilance Capacity in East Africa with Focus on Neglected Tropical Diseases,” evaluated the pharmacovigilance systems in Ethiopia, Kenya, Rwanda, and Tanzania, and providing recommendations for improvement.
Enhancing Pharmacovigilance and regulatory capacity in Africa
Barry’s expertise in pharmacovigilance and epidemiology was shaped by her doctoral studies at the Karolinska Institutet under the PROFORMA project. As part of her doctoral research, Barry assessed the pharmacovigilance capacity of national medicines regulatory agencies and neglected tropical diseases programs in Ethiopia, Kenya, Rwanda, and Tanzania, identifying critical gaps and areas for improvement.
"I investigated the safety of mass drug administration for diseases like schistosomiasis and soil-transmitted helminths in Rwandan schoolchildren and explored how genetic variations influence drug levels and adverse events," she explains. "These efforts are crucial for improving patient safety, enhancing public health programs, and ensuring the safe use of medicines in mass drug administration initiatives, particularly in regions with limited pharmacovigilance capacity", Barry explains.
Managing the PROFORMA project
As Project Manager of the PROFORMA initiative, which aims to strengthen pharmacovigilance systems in East Africa, Barry coordinated efforts to strengthen pharmacovigilance systems in Ethiopia, Kenya, Rwanda, and Tanzania. She engaged with key partners, stakeholders, and national regulatory agencies to support the implementation of the project’s activities, provide technical assistance for neglected tropical disease surveillance, and conduct post-marketing surveillance of vaccines and medicines.
"I was actively involved in designing, planning, and executing projects, providing technical support, and evaluating national pharmacovigilance systems to identify gaps and recommend improvements.," says Barry. Her contributions also extended to developing national pharmacovigilance strategies, fostering collaboration among stakeholders, and supporting training initiatives to enhance the competencies of healthcare professionals in these countries.
About PROFORMA
Pharmacovigilance infrastructure and post-marketing surveillance system capacity building for regional medicine regulatory harmonization in East Africa (Acronym - PROFORMA) project is part of the EDCTP2 programme supported by the European Union (grant number CSA2016S-1618). For more information, visit the project website https://proforma.ki.se/.