Announcement

Afghan Pharmaceutical Company Achieves ISO 9001:2000 Certification

Khalid Irshad Pharmaceuticals manufactures water treatment tablets and oral rehydration salts to improve the health of the Afghan people.

Kabul, Afghanistan  | Friday, July 31, 2009

Photo: USAID/COMPRI-A

Khalid Irshad Pharmaceutical personnel producing Shefa oral rehydration salts.

As more quality health products are made available to the Afghan population, maternal and childhood mortality rates continue to decrease.  The United States Government supports the Afghan pharmaceutical manufacturers in producing these high-quality, affordable health products for the local market. One USAID-supported company, Khalid Irshad Pharmaceuticals (KIP), is now manufacturing the Abpakon brand of chlorinated water treatment solutions and the Shefa brand of oral rehydration salts in three different flavors.  In May, KIP obtained ISO 9001:2000 certification, becoming the first Afghan pharmaceutical company to achieve this level of international quality standards.

KIP has shown other companies in Afghanistan’s fledgling pharmaceutical sector how small investments in quality assurance and control and production can bring about big achievements – both in improving the health of the Afghan people and stimulating growth in the pharmaceutical industry.  In early 2010, KIP will begin to conduct quality assurance workshops for other Afghan pharmaceutical companies to increase the quality of locally produced products to international standards.  Additionally, the Ministry of Public Health (MoPH) is subcontracting KIP to perform quality testing services