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SoP researchers at the WHO World Health Assembly
3 July 2024
Two early career researchers from SoP attended the 77th WHO World Health Assembly in Geneva, May 27 to June 1, as part of the International Pharmaceutical Federation’s delegation. They attended Assembly events promoting the role of pharmacists to improve global health.
The UCL School of Pharmacy was represented at the 77th WHO World Health Assembly (WHA) in Geneva by Ms Afina Nur Fauziyyah, PhD student with Prof. Ian Bates, and Dr Rebecka Isaksson, Research fellow with Prof. Mat Todd. As active volunteers with the International Pharmaceutical Federation (FIP), Ms Fauziyyah and Dr Isaksson were invited to join FIP’s delegation to represent pharmacists and pharmaceutical scientists, with the specific aim to promote pharmacist’s role in health care. The theme of the 77th WHA was “All for Health, Health for All”, this is also the focus of the WHO’s new strategy for 2025-2028. The WHO aim is to improve both health and well-being across the world by 2028 to save millions of lives. Improved health will be key to meeting both the health care demand post-COVID pandemic, as well as to prepare populations for the health challenges that climate change is bringing. Preventative care in the community and primary setting will be key to achieve health for all, by reducing the prevalence of non-communicable diseases which today are increasing and straining health systems. FIP launched the “Think Health, Think Pharmacy” campaign to highlight the role pharmacists can play in improving health for all, in connection to the 77th WHA. Pharmacists act in the community setting and already play a role in the primary health care of many countries. FIP wants this to expand and hope that this campaign will make policymakers and politicians more aware of the healthcare resource the pharmacy workforce could be. Ms Fauziyyah, FIP Early Career Pharmaceutical Group (ECPG) representative, attended the Assembly as official delegate from FIP, and delivered an individual statement on behalf of FIP. The statement focused on antimicrobial resistance (AMR) and antimicrobial stewardship (AMS), emphasising pharmacists' role in promoting responsible and rational antimicrobial use. Furthermore, FIP has a policy statement regarding the mitigation of AMR through AMS as part of FIP's commitment to this issue. Dr Isaksson, FIP Scientific Secretary, was part of the FIP full delegation and attended several WHA side-events to promote pharmacy and pharmaceutical science. This included the Geneva Health Forum where sustainability, climate change, and health were discussed; rising temperatures around the world are not only increasing the prevalence of infectious disease such as malaria and other vector-borne diseases, it is also making non-communicable diseases more deadly. Pharmacists can play a key role in community care and preventative care, which is not only the least expensive care but also the care that has the lowest carbon footprint. This makes the FIP campaign “Think Health, Think Pharmacy” well timed to promote this role for pharmacists globally.
Dr Rebecka Isaksson, UCL Profile: https://profiles.ucl.ac.uk/83683-rebecka-isaksson LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/rebecka-isaksson-phd/ X: @IsakssonRebecka Email: r.isaksson@ucl.ac.uk Ms Afina Nur Fauziyyah, UCL Profile: https://profiles.ucl.ac.uk/88553-afina-nur-fauziyyah LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/afinafauziyyah/ X: @afinafauziyyah Email: afina.fauziyyah.21@ucl.ac.uk |