Recap of the FIP Virtual 2020
By: Chidinma Omereji
Opening Ceremony
The opening ceremony of the FIP virtual event was held on the 13th September 2020. In a welcome address on the event’s opening ceremony, Catherine Duggan (FIP’s Chief Executive Officer) appreciated the President of FIP, Vice Presidents of the Federation, the general FIP team, pharmacists globally and volunteers who are active as front liners in the battle against the COVID-19 pandemic. She went on to give a comprehensive report of FIP’s activities throughout the prevalence of the pandemic.
In his address, the FIP president, Dominique Jordan also showered appreciation on pharmacists globally for the expertise, strength, courage and dedication they have exhibited this period. A striking quote from his address states thus; “Pharmacists will be needed more than ever to prevent ill health and ensure patient safety”.
In the course of his address, Jordan stressed the fact that FIP remains resilient in her fight against falsified medicines which heightened within this period of the COVID-19 outbreak. He also noted that the FIP recently initiated a joint project with the World Health Organization (WHO) to develop a curriculum on sub-standard medical products that will become incorporated into pharmaceutical university teaching in the African region. Jordan’s address also touched on salient issues such as COVID-19, medication safety, vaccine hesitation & immunization and mechanisms for achieving universal health coverage. He wrapped up his address with a tribute to FIP members who have lost their lives to the COVID-19 pandemic.
The ceremony saw the presentations of two major awards, among other recognitions, to well-deserving members of the Federation. In recognition of a distinguished scientific and academic record and contribution to pharmacy practice and clinical pharmacy, Professor Martin Schulz was awarded the 2020 Andre Bedat Award, FIP’s highest pharmaceutical practice award. Another prestigious award presented was the inaugural Kamal K Midha Award for Exceptional Leadership. The recipient of this award was Professor William N. Charman, who received the award in recognition of his exceptional leadership exploits dedicated to the advancement of pharmaceutical sciences.
Additionally, eight distinguished members of the Federation, who have exhibited exceptional leadership and made outstanding contributions in advancing pharmaceutical science and pharmacy practice internationally, were awarded fellows of the FIP. The awardees include;
- Mr Jaime Acosta Gomez (Spain)
- Dr Jill E. Martin Boone (USA)
- Prof. William N. Charman (Australia)
- Dr Martin Henman (Ireland)
- Prof. Marilyn Morris (USA)
- Dr Charlotte Rossing (Denmark)
- Mr Vaiyapuri Subramaniam (USA)
- Prof. Shigeo Yamamura (Japan)
It is pertinent to note that the Health Promotion Campaign Award was presented to the Pharmaceutical Society of Nigeria Young Pharmacists Group (PSN YPG), Lagos in acknowledgement of their strides in promoting mental health awareness. Also, the Association Pharmaceutique Belge (APB) and The General Pharmaceutical Council of Spain were joint recipients of the 2020 Pharmacy Practice Award in recognition of their programs on National quality improvement on compounded medicines and AdherenciaMed respectively.
FIP YPG Business Meeting
At the first FIP YPG business meeting of the FIP Virtual 2020, the FIP President, Dominique Jordan addressed YPG members where he stressed on the important role of YPG in FIP and encouraged the involvement of YPG members in activities of FIP. He charged the YPG to always think of what they can do to advance the vision and mission of FIP. Catherine Duggan (FIP CEO), though unavoidably absent in the business meeting, stated that the YPG is the future of the federation and called for more engagement and support of YPG in activities of FIP.
The meeting further adopted an agenda and appointed Sherly Meilianti, Allie Jo Shipman, Gerard Lee See and Ayodeji Matuluko as Chair of Assembly, parliamentarian, secretary of assembly and counting committee respectively. The meeting featured the approval and review of the 2019 Abu Dhabi World Congress YPG business meeting notes and motions. Other activities which took place included presenting and voting of new motions, review of the election candidates, and annual and financial report of the 2020 YPG steering committee.
The highlight of the meeting was the announcement of Renly Lim as the new president of FIP YPG. The business meeting finished with a closing remark from the FIP president where he commended the YPG for their superb organization and growth.
The second day of the business meeting featured a presentation by the 2019 FIP-YPG professional Innovation grant recipient, Shephard Mhlaba, who talked about his research titled “Design and Analysis of a Digital Platform for Supply Chain Management in Community Pharmacy Practice”. The FIP Foundation the Chairman, Mr. John Ware then announced Dr. Dallas Smith as the winner of the 2020 FIP Professional Innovation Grant. His research project is titled “Evaluation of a Pharmacist-led medication therapy management program for patients with hypertension at a tertiary hospital’s outpatient clinic in Malawi”.
Following the award presentation, Ayodeji Matuluko, FIP YPG Chairperson of projects, launched the FIP YPG Career Development Toolkit Version 0 which is a tool aimed at providing guidance and support for YPG members to develop their career and build expertise in pharmacy and pharmaceutical sciences.
The meeting further witnessed the announcement of 10 national and regional YPGs and their representatives who are now part of the new FIP YPG Network namely;
- Africa YPG
- Asian-YPG
- Associação Portuguesa de Jovens Farmacêuticos (APJF)
- Cameroon YPG
- Indonesian YPG
- Pharmaceutical Society of Ghana- YPG
- Pharmaceutical Society of Nigeria- YPG
- PSA Early Career Pharmacists
- Taiwan YPG
- Turkish Pharmacists Association YC
The business meeting climaxed at the announcement of the 2021 YPG steering commitment as follows;
- President: Renly Lim (Australia)
- President-Elect: Louisa Sullivan (USA)
- Secretary: Maria Virginia Giolito (Argentina)
- Chairperson of Public Relations: Nai-Hwa Mei (Taiwan)
Ikwaibom Aniefiok Umoiyoho (Nigeria) was later appointed as the 2021 Chairperson of Projects after the position was reopened for nominations.
Highlights of the World Pharmacy Week
During the FIP Virtual 2020, 21st to 25th September was marked as World Pharmacy Week and the Federation celebrated the entire profession, from pharmacists, scientists and educators to the entire pharmacy team who have done so much during the COVID-19 pandemic. The week witnessed the inauguration of several landmark projects collectively aimed at promoting FIP’s vision and mission as well as advancing global health and culminated with the 10th World Pharmacists Day marked on 25th September.
Some historic events during the week included;
- 21st September: Launch of FIP Development Goals (FIP DGs)
- 24th September: Launch of FIP Commission on Antimicrobial Resistance (AMR)
- 24th September: FIP Development Goal 10: Equity & Equality for Pharmacy Now
- 25th September: Introducing the FIP “Transforming Vaccination Globally & Regionally” Series Programme; Needs, Action and Outcomes
The FIP Development Goals (FIP DGs) delivers FIP’s commitment to global health and the achievement of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).
These DGs encompass components of pharmacy practice, science, workforce and education and provide a systematic framework for the transformation of the pharmacy profession. The FIP Commission on Antimicrobial Resistance (AMR) is saddled with the responsibility of driving the new FIP Pharmacy AMR roadmap and actions while also focusing on the implementation of the AMR-specific FIP Development Goal that evaluates the role of pharmacists, pharmaceutical scientists and pharmaceutical educators in reducing antimicrobial resistance globally.
In recognition of the prevalent societal inequities and inequalities which centers on age, ethnicity, income, gender and more, FIP expounded on the FIP DG 10: Equity and Equality and called for strategies to address inequalities in the pharmaceutical workforce, global pharmaceutical care services and pharmaceutical sciences development.
On World Pharmacist day 2020, FIP launched a novel transformational outcome-based online program tagged “Transforming Vaccination Globally and Regionally”. This launch led to the signing of a historic global FIP commitment to action on vaccination in pharmacy globally and regionally with a focus on identifying vaccine transformation needs, supporting vaccine transformative goals, and delivering a global action to vaccine transformation.
Relevance to Young Pharmacists and Pharmaceutical Scientists
The FIP DGs, which is a framework for the transformation of the pharmacy profession globally, are set out for the development of the profession over the next decade and require the support of members globally. Young pharmacists and pharmaceutical scientists are the future of the profession and it is imperative for us to support these goals in every area of our practice to contribute to the realization of these goals. We can do this by conducting a needs assessment toward these goals, identifying our current priorities in our practice, and developing action plans to achieve the goals. Tools and structures developed by the FIP can also be used to facilitate and support the process of transformation of our practice.
Young pharmacists and pharmaceutical scientists can support the global action on vaccine transformation by joining the FIP’s vaccine transformational programme series while also engaging in advocacy and collaborations to promote awareness and actions geared towards improving vaccination in their respective communities and regions. Young pharmacists and pharmaceutical scientists could serve as agents of antimicrobial stewardship by driving projects and initiatives which will create awareness on the dangers of antimicrobial resistance and strategies for curbing the menace of antimicrobial misuse.
Because pharmacists are medicines experts and custodians, young pharmacists should continually strive to get enlightened and trained on the issue of falsified medicines. Young pharmacists and pharmacy students within the African region should take advantage of the curriculum on sub-standard medical products jointly initiated by FIP and WHO. Pharmacists and pharmaceutical scientists globally, regionally and nationally are encouraged to make efforts in creating awareness about sub-standard medicines while also guiding patients and other healthcare providers professionally.
FIP calls for young pharmacists and pharmaceutical scientists to be involved in the work on addressing issues of inequities and inequalities in the pharmaceutical workforce, practice and science while also encouraging increased involvement of young pharmacists and pharmaceutical scientists in FIP’s activities.
