World Health Day 2006
April 7, 2006: To coincide with the global recognition of World Health Day, today FIP officially launches its Global Pharmacy Workforce and Migration Report – a Call for Action. The launch is a timely compliment to World Health Day, which this year focuses on the theme “Working Together for Health”, and which will see an effort from health stakeholders worldwide to raise awareness of the increasingly compromised situation surrounding the global health workforce.
Over the past year the FIP workforce and migration study has been a major focus of the Federation, and has involved the contribution of over 100 individuals from pharmacy professional and regulatory bodies, training institutions and Ministries of Health. The report, the first of its kind to profile workforce issues specifically related to the profession of pharmacy, provides a current overview of important issues affecting the pharmacy work force such as regulation and description, shortages, distribution imbalances, and Continuing Professional Development. With this report, FIP urges pharmacy professional and regulatory bodies, policy makers, pharmacy education providers, and pharmacists to actively document the profession and build an evidence base from which to access credible support for change, as well as develop national strategies to address workforce issues. It is hoped that with this data a precedent is set for government and professional bodies to dedicate contin uous attention to the issue.
This strategy holds true for the FIP as well, whose overall aim is to increase collaborative efforts with and amongst Member Organisations so that pharmacy workforce issues may be appropriately and effectively examined, and that future directions for all aspects of the profession may be mapped out. It is becoming increasingly accepted, opportunely, that the pharmacy profession has an essential and integral role within all aspects of healthcare on local, national, and global levels, and it is imperative that human resources continue to strengthen in order to meet the needs of the population and growing expectations of the profession.
FIP invites all to view the report.
FIP Global Pharmacy Workforce and Migration report
Download full report [2MB]
Appendixes
The stories of pharmacists practicing in the community, hospital, and other various healthcare settings from the six WHO Regions of the world are also portrayed to give insight to the work environment, role, challenges, contribution and inspiration of pharmacists around the world.
And a FIP World Health Day Toolkit is also available online to provide ideas and ways for pharmacists to raise awareness of the profession and workforce issues. FIP, together with WHO, urges and invites pharmacists and pharmaceutical organisations to take up the initiative to celebrate and advance the profession at every level. This includes organising World Health Day Launches and activities, and nominating deserved individual practitioners as Heroes for Health. |
