A delegation from FIP attended the recent 79^th World Health Assembly (WHA79) in Geneva, Switzerland. FIP is the International Pharmaceutical Federation and is the global body for pharmacy, pharmaceutical sciences and pharmaceutical education.

At WHA79, FIP delivered individual and joint statements on topics including communicable diseases, mental health and pandemic preparedness. Its advocacy efforts at the event were based around the Global Situation Report on Pharmacy, published in 2025.

The FIP delegation in 2026 included 55 delegates, who attended more than 80 side events over three days. Pharmacist speakers presented at 15 events on topics that included self-care, men’s health, medicine supply chain, primary healthcare, and health workforce.

FIP also hosted three side events in Geneva during World Health Assembly, with sessions entitled:

• “Self-care essential for primary health care. Pharmacists critical for self-care and Universal Health Coverage”, which explored practical strategies to strengthen self-care through community-based services;
• “Addressing the impact of complex crises on global health through safe and sustainable access to medicine and strengthening pharmaceutical contributions to humanitarian action”, which highlighted pharmacists’ role in humanitarian settings using their expertise to get essential medicines and pharmacy services to people hit by conflict, disaster and extreme poverty; and
• An event focussed on implementing the World Health Organization Framework Convention on Tobacco Control (WHO FCTC) and broader non-communicable disease prevention targets by integrating the pharmacy workforce.

For more information see fip.org.