Pharmacists worldwide encouraged to participate in 'World Pharmacists Day 2015' on Sept. 25

THE HAGUE, Netherlands — Pharmacists around the globe are being called upon by the International Pharmaceutical Federation to take part in World Pharmacists Day 2015 through social media on Thursday.



The FIP has created a microsite on Twibbon where people can add their picture to the World Pharmacists Day logo and then use this personalized logo on their FaceBook and Twitter accounts.



The slogan for this year’s World Pharmacists Day is “Access to pharmacists is access to health.”



“Access to health is not just an economic issue. It is also about access to medicines, which has big research and evidence elements, access to correct information and advice, and access to education. The current Ebola emergency provides a good illustration. Research is vital if a vaccine or cure for this deadly disease is to be found. Moreover, it is essential for people to have good information. We have heard, for example, reports that people in Nigeria have died because they were led to believe that drinking salt water would prevent or cure infection. We know that pharmacists in affected countries are offering reliable advice and playing an important part in education and dispelling such myths,” said FIP’s president Carmen Peña.



FIP’s CEO and general secretary, Luc Besançon, added that World Pharmacists Day is a good opportunity to highlight the impact and added value of the pharmacy profession and its role in improving health to authorities, other professions and the media as well as to the general public.



FIP’s member organizations have been busy preparing to mark this year’s World Pharmacists Day. Portugal, for example, has chosen Sept. 25 to launch a year-long campaign on the responsible use of medicines, and the FIP is informed that Zimbabwe’s pharmacists will celebrate with a walk into Africa Unity Square in Harare, which will be followed by speeches and media interviews.



The FIP will be compiling a 2014 World Pharmacists Day album and is inviting people to send in images of their World Pharmacists Day activities and celebrations so that they can be shared with colleagues around the world. Pictures and captions can be sent to [email protected].



World Pharmacists Day, which is in its fourth year, was adopted by the FIP Council at the 2009 World Congress of Pharmacy and Pharmaceutical Sciences in Istanbul, Turkey. Sept. 25 was chosen because it is the date that the FIP came into existence in 1912.