About us

The South East Asian Region Pharmaceutical (SEARPharm) Forum was founded in 2001 by the World Health Organization (WHO), the International Pharmaceutical Federation (FIP) and national pharmaceutical associations in Bangladesh, India, Indonesia, Sri Lanka and Thailand.

Our priority FIP Development Goals are:

•     DG 1 (Academic capacity)
•     DG 2 (Early career training strategy)
•     DG 4 (Advanced and specialist development)
•     DG 5 (Competency development)
•     DG 12 (Pharmacy intelligence)
•     DG 15 (People-centred care)
•     DG 16 (Communicable diseases)
•     DG 17 (Antimicrobial stewardship)
•     DG 19 (Patient safety)
•     DG 20 (Digital health)

Other key priorities are preventing diseases through vaccinations in pharmacies, promoting self-care and common ailments management, addressing gender inequalities and transforming the pharmaceutical workforce.

How we work

Our executive committee is as follows:

President Dr Venkata Narayana Tanniru, India
Vice president Ms Chinta Abayawardana, Sri Lanka
Vice President, Treasurer & Project Director Ms Manjiri Gharat, India
Secretary of pharmaceutical practice  Dr Ronak Shrestha, Nepal
Secretary of pharmaceutical education and workforce development Dr Khanita Duangchaemkarn, Thailand
Secretary of pharmaceutical sciences Mr Tisara De Silva, Sri Lanka
ECPG observer Dr Praveen Devanandan, India

The current statutes of the South East Asian Region Pharmaceutical Forum were adopted in April 2024.

Contact us at searpharm@fip.org

SEARPharm Forum with FIP President (2019-2023) Dominique Jordan (pictured 1^st row, 4^th from left) and FIP CEO Catherine Duggan (1^st row, 5^th from left).

Launch of the first issue of the forum’s i-Care Bulletin on antimicrobial resistance.

Pharmacy organisations in the South East Asia region

The following list contains organisations in the region that are known to FIP. This list is non-exhaustive and FIP is continuing to add to this list.