WORLD HEALTH ORGANIZATION
ORGANISATION MONDIALE DE LA SANTE
REGIONAL OFFICE FOR THE WESTERN PACIFIC BUREAU REGIONAL DU PACIFIQUE OCCIDENTAL
REGIONAL COMMITTEE
WPRlRC58INGO/8 12 September 2007 ORIGINAL: ENGLISH
Fifty-eighth session Jeju, Republic of Korea 10-14 September 2007 Agenda item 11.3
STATEMENT BY DR REYNALDO H. UMALI REPRESENTATIVE, INTERNATIONAL PHARMACEUTICAL FEDERATION (lPF)
Mr. Chairman, Your Excellencies and Distinguished Delegates: The Western Pacific Pharmaceutical Forum brings together all the pharmaceutical associations within our region enabling contact, information exchange and support by interaction with the World Health Organization and the International Pharmaceutical Federation centred in The Hague. The Forum enhances pharmacists' roles by developing, supporting and promoting public health programmes in support of WHO and national governments. The Forum encourages public health education in pharmacy schools, develops papers and policies for regional pharmacy organizations recognizing local issues such as avian influenza, counterfeit medicines in local languages. It encourages all countries within our region to establish quality standards, practice standards and ethical codes for pharmacy practice. We work with national governments and the regional WHO officers of countries to establish good pharmacy practice levels appropriate to that country and support its ongoing development. Our major project at the moment is working in association with the Pharmaceutical Association of Vietnam and the Department of Health of Vietnam to advise and support the development of good pharmacy practice in Vietnam. We have acted as advisers to the government of Vietnam in the development of the statutes that will restructure the nature of community pharmacy in that country. Vietnam had previously been through the process of establishing good manufacturing practice and good distribution practice and in 2007 is ready, with our support, to adopt and implement these new standards for the supply of medicines through community pharmacies. Training is needed to support these changes in Vietnam and we are delighted that WHO Western Pacific Regional Office has generously supplied some funding to support the development of a "train the trainer" programme which we will conduct through the five faculties of pharmacy in Vietnam. The Forum already this year has completed a survey of all the schools and faculties of pharmacy supplying undergraduate and postgraduate courses in the Western Pacific Region.
WPRlRC58INGO/8 page 2
This extensive report covers the identification of all the schools, the length of the undergraduate degree, the title of the degree offered and any special licensing and registration requirements, including internships, or residencies. We have endeavoured to distribute the report widely, but it is available on the Western Pacific Pharmaceutical Forum website which is www.wppf.org. This year, the Forum is pleased to be able to commence interaction with two new countries Cambodia and Papua New Guinea. The Forum is also very proud to announce that it is establishing a scholarship trust to encourage travel for senior pharmacy students and new graduates within the region, either to support work in developing countries, or internships with WHO at sites available, that with some project fmancial support from WHO it can have an impact on developing and maintaining high standards of pharmacy practice within the Western Pacific Region.