ARTICLE 26 HEALTH LABORATORY SERVICES States Parties shall a) co-operate and support one another to develop acceptable standards in laboratory services and the training of medical laboratory scientists; and b) develop coherent regional policies and strategies to strengthen laboratory services and quality assurance. --ARTICLE 27 HEALTH TECHNOLOGY AND EQUIPMENT States Parties shall co-operate in the a) development and formulation of coherent, comparable, harmonised and standardised policies and strategies on health technology and equipment; b) procurement and maintenance of equipment; c) sharing of information, training an skills development on particular equipment; and d) control of ionising radiation and radioactive material. --ARTICLE 28 REFERRAL SYSEMS States Parties shall co-operate and assist one another in the harmonisation of policies, mechanisms, procedures and strategies with regard to tertiary care services including a) the establishment of appropriate clinical and administrative guidelines for referral, within and between State Parties; b) progressively building capacity in State Parties to provide appropriate high quality specialised care through the exchange and attachment of specialists in the Region; and c) the sharing of information on centres of excellence in the Region. ARTICLE 29 PHARMACEUTICALS States Parties shall co-operate and assist one another in the a) harmonisation of procedures of pharmaceuticals, quality assurance and registration; b) production, procurement and distribution of affordable essential drugs; c) development and strengthening of an Essential Drugs Programme and the promotion of the rational use of drugs; d) development of mechanisms for quality assurance in the supply and conveyance of vaccines, blood and blood products; e) research and documentation on traditional medicine and its utilisation; and f) establishment of a regional databank of traditional medicine, medicinal plants and procedures in order to ensure their protection in accordance with regimes and related intellectual property rights governing genetic resources, plant varieties and biotechnology. --ARTICLE 30 SETTLEMENT OF DISPUTES Any dispute arising from the interpretation or application of this Protocol, which cannot be settled amicably, shall be referred to the Tribunal. --ARTICLE 31 SANCTIONS 1. Sanctions may be imposed against any State Party which a) persistently fails, without good reason, to fulfill obligations assumed under this Protocol; or b) implements policies which undermine the objectives and principles of this Protocol. 2. The Council shall determine whether any sanction should be imposed against a State Party and shall make the recommendation to the Summit if it decides that a sanction is called for. The Summit shall decide, on a case-by-case basis, the appropriate sanction to be imposed. --- 8