Pharmacists contribute daily towards making health systems more efficient and sustainable, and hence towards universal health coverage (UHC). They do this by supporting and empowering patients and consumers in making better health choices, leading to optimal outcomes. This is part of their role all around the world as healthcare professionals at the hearts of communities, who deal with consultations on a variety of self-care topics in their practice. Self-care spans the whole wellness spectrum, from disease prevention to the management of symptoms and common ailments.
The International Pharmaceutical Federation (FIP) organised a programme of digital events in 2021–22 called “Shaping the future of self-care through pharmacy”, which included two series of events focusing on the policy elements and the practice elements of this role. The first series, “Towards sustainable and universal healthcare systems and coverage”, had the following aims:
• To share and discuss strategies adopted by pharmacy leaders and workers, including FIP member organisations, to accelerate universal health coverage by enabling self-care;
• To describe sector or area-specific implications, innovations and approaches adopted across practice; and
• To discuss the implications of optimising self-care and the role of pharmacy.
These events included a variety of international stakeholders and partners in the area of self-care, such as the Global Self-Care Federation, the International Self-Care Foundation, the Pharmaceutical Group of the European Union, the Association of the European Self-Care Industry, and others.
