FIP works to advance the profession of pharmacy so that people everywhere have access to the expertise of pharmacists and to medicines. Our activities include: working in partnership with other organisations, such as the World Health Organization, to improve global health; speaking for the profession on current issues, such as patient safety, through giving statements at the World Health Assembly; supporting our members (national professional organisations, scientific organisations, schools of pharmacy and individuals), publishing reports and guidance, and organising international congresses to provide the profession with an opportunity to share knowledge and experiences face-to-face.
FIP PROGRAMMES OF WORK
Antimicrobial resistance
FIP supports pharmaceutical practitioners, scientists and educators, as well as pharmacy organisations around the globe in their efforts to minimise antimicrobial resistance (AMR). FIP is driving action through its Commission on AMR, which is comprised of pharmacy experts with international reach and diverse backgrounds. The Commission’s imminent AMR activities span education, policy and public health, with related work in the area of safety of medicines, and engagements throughout each of the World Health Organization regions. This work is in line with the ambitions described by FIP Development Goal 17 (Antimicrobial stewardship).
More information can be found here: https://www.fip.org/antimicrobial-resistance
Disease prevention and self-care
FIP’s disease prevention programme aims to advance the role of pharmacists in the area of disease prevention strategies that enable us to remain healthy, functional and productive, leading to happier lives, stronger economic growth and less pressure on health systems. Pharmacists can have roles in health promotion and literacy, self-care, management of self-limiting conditions, vaccination and prevention of communicable and vector-borne diseases. A key element of the prevention programme is the role of pharmacists in improving vaccination coverage rates throughout the life course. Our Transforming Vaccination programme is an important disease prevention initiative, focusing on aspects of equity and access to vaccination at regional and global level.
More information can be found here: https://prevention.fip.org/
Educational partnerships
FIP educational partnerships programme serves the overarching FIP mission of “advancing pharmacy and pharmaceutical sciences education worldwide” and the programme delivers this through all aspects of pharmaceutical education, including education content, people that deliver or receive the education, and systems linked to education. The FIP-UNESCO UNITWIN programme is at the core of this programme and facilitates educational partnerships, networking, knowledge sharing and data generation with and for FIP’s education-focused members.
More information can be found here on the FIP UNESCO UNITWIN Programme: https://www.fip.org/fip-unesco-unitwin-programme
Equity and equality
FIP Development Goal 10 (Equity and equality) is one of the overarching fundamental goals that directly contributes to our vision of a world where everyone benefits from access to safe, effective, quality and affordable medicines. The FIP EquityRx programme focuses on equitable access to health care for all individuals, regardless of their social, demographic and health identifiers, and intersectionality that exists across all these characteristics. The FIP EquityRx programme works across pharmaceutical practice, science, and workforce and education. Some notable workstreams include vaccine equity, workforce diversity and health literacy. This programme is closely linked to the FIPWiSE programme (see above).
More information can be found here: https://equityrx.fip.org
FIP Development Goals
Since its launch in 2020, the FIP Development Goals (DGs) programme of work focuses on supporting our members with implementation globally, regionally and locally. The FIP DGs are set to transform pharmacy in alignment with wider global imperatives underpinning the UN Sustainable Development Goals. The DGs can be used as a framework to inform strategic planning and to monitor progress over time, enabled by FIP’s Global Pharmaceutical Observatory. They align with FIP’s mission to support global health by enabling the advancement of pharmaceutical practice, sciences and education, and are key resource for transforming the pharmacy profession over the next decade globally, regionally and nationally.
More information can be found here: https://developmentgoals.fip.org
FIP Global Pharmaceutical Observatory
The mission of FIP’s Global Pharmaceutical Observatory (GPO) is to effectively and efficiently collate and validate global data on pharmacy workforce and practice, and pharmaceutical science. The GPO team undertake comprehensive analyses and provide accessible, high-quality intelligence that supports our member organisations in their work. The GPO workstreams include the Multinational Needs Assessment Programme, which provides a framework for data-driven, evidence-led projects based on needs. The Atlas provides FIP members with data visualisation and ways to interact with countries, regions and members around key areas of practice, workforce and innovation.
There is continued development of the GPO database, microsite and the visualisations of data on the FIP Atlas. Workstreams predominately deliver FIP Development Goal 12 (Pharmacy intelligence), with the aim of establishing and monitoring needs across nations and members, and feeding into regional and global needs assessment. The GPO’s vision is to become the most comprehensive and most respected source of data and intelligence on pharmacy workforce, pharmacy practice and pharmaceutical science worldwide.
More information can be found here: https://www.fip.org/global-pharmaceutical-observatory
FIP platform to support provision through partnerships
The FIP provision and partnerships programme seeks to forge partnerships between member organisations and partners to facilitate provision of quality programmes and courses for training and development that are FIP-aligned. Through this programme, FIP provides a global platform for such partnerships to flourish, to engage, develop and support FIP members and partners. Provision is based on the needs-based approach and the priorities of members, to advance pharmacy across all sectors and roles at national and regional levels.
More information can be found here on FIP global platform: https://www.fip.org/fip-global-platform
FIP Women in Science and Education (FIPWiSE)
FIPWiSE (Women in Science and Education) is an initiative that was launched on 11 February 2020 on the United Nations’ International Day of Women and Girls in Science. FIPWiSE aspires to champion and enable women in pharmaceutical sciences and pharmacy education to achieve their fullest potential, and to attract female students and young professionals into these fields. Watch the “FIPWiSE Words” launch video and learn about FIPWiSE’s vision, mission and priority advocacy areas here.
More information can be found here: https://www.fip.org/fipwise
Non-communicable diseases
The FIP non-communicable diseases (NCDs) programme aims to advance the role of pharmacists in the prevention and appropriate management of NCDs and in the promotion of the responsible use of medicines. This includes pharmacists’ clinical roles in the multidisciplinary healthcare team focusing on prevention and early detection of NCDs and in optimising adherence to medicines therapy regimens, particularly for poly-medicated patients. A particular focus is given to the five priority NCDs (cardiovascular diseases, asthma and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD), diabetes, cancer and mental health) and includes the FIP initiative, the FIP Practice Transformation programme on NCDs.
More information can be found here: https://ncd.fip.org
Patient safety
Patient safety is a high priority for pharmacists across our profession, who are responsible for ensuring that when a patient receives and uses a medicine, it will not cause harm. On a global level, FIP works closely with the World Health Organization on its patient safety programme and has been closely involved in advancing and advocating global patient safety. FIP also prepares tools for pharmacists practising in different settings and countries across the globe. This work is in line with the ambitions of the FIP Development Goal 19 (Patient safety) and our contributes to the delivery of the DG.
The year 2022 is dedicated to safety work, and patient safety is one of its three main areas, together with substandard and falsified medical products and antimicrobial resistance.
More information can be found here: https://www.fip.org/patient-safety
Primary health care
The FIP primary health care (PHC) programme aims to support and strengthen pharmacy to deliver evidence of impact in PHC in line with the World Health Organization’s Astana Declaration, 2018. FIP’s vision is a world where everyone benefits from access to safe, effective, quality and affordable medicines and health technologies, as well as from pharmaceutical care services provided by pharmacists, in collaboration with other healthcare professionals while leaving no one behind.
The programme supports countries and regions with PHC policies for enabling pharmaceutical policies and systems. We seek to increase the knowledge and skills of the pharmaceutical workforce in delivering PHC and consolidate our programmes of work in a policy framework that is clearly aligned with the Astana Declaration and the WHO-UNICEF Operational Framework for PHC.
More information can be found here: https://primaryhealthcare.fip.org
Sustainability in pharmacy
The FIP SustainabilityRx programme supports the implementation and delivery of FIP Development Goal 21 (Sustainability in pharmacy). The programme focuses on sustainable pharmacy services and models as well as environmental and planetary health, and responding to disasters and pandemics. Besides the production of resources in this area, FIP aims to fully engage all its constituencies and support delivery of concrete actions across them in this important area.
More information can be found here: https://sustainability.fip.org
Workforce development
The FIP workforce development programme advocates the development of an adaptable, flexible and competent pharmaceutical workforce as the cornerstone to achieving access to quality essential health services, and safe and effective medicines and vaccines. The programme assists countries in assessing their individual pharmacy workforce needs and priorities, support them to develop needs-based national workforce strategies and infrastructure, and provide co-created solutions, tools, mechanisms and resources for implementation collated in the FIP Workforce Reference Guide.
Key interfaces include the Workforce Development Hub, the Pharmacy Technicians Advisory Committee and the FIP Pharmacy Education journal.
More information can be found here: https://www.fip.org/workforce-transformation