This special episode was recorded just before the 43rd Annual Meeting of the WHO Programme for International Drug Monitoring wrapped up in Cairo, Egypt. Held from 27 to 29 October 2025, the meeting brought together representatives from more than 80 member states, along with senior experts and regulatory leaders from WHO headquarters and regional offices. Discussions focused on strengthening pharmacovigilance for women of childbearing age and children, in light of WHO’s newly finalised Global Smart Pharmacovigilance Strategy. In this episode, you’ll hear an abridged interview with Shanthi Pal, WHO Pharmacovigilance Team Lead, as she unpacks the new strategy and what it means for countries.Want to know more?Read WHO’s “Global smart pharmacovigilance strategy” (Geneva: World Health Organization; 2025). Explore WHO’s work on pharmacovigilance through the Programme for International Drug Monitoring (PIDM) and the WHO Pharmacovigilance Team.Learn more about regulatory systems strengthening and the WHO Global Benchmarking Tool (GBT) for medicines and vaccines.Discover the WHO network for regulatory systems strengthening – the Coalition of Interested Parties (CIP), of which UMC is a member.Visit the UMC website to find out more about the WHO PIDM and UMC’s role in it. Join the conversation on social mediaFollow us on Facebook, LinkedIn, X, or Bluesky and share your thoughts about the show with the hashtag #DrugSafetyMatters.Got a story to share?We’re always looking for new content and interesting people to interview. If you have a great idea for a show, get in touch!About UMCRead more about Uppsala Monitoring Centre and how we promote safer use of medicines and vaccines for everyone everywhere.