PDA Chairman, Mark Koziol, who attended the WHA, which is held annually in Geneva, Switzerland, pictured at the Palace of Nations, the location of the WHO Headquarters
The World Health Assembly brings together health leaders, policymakers and professional organisations from around the world to set priorities for global health. For UK pharmacists, that matters because decisions, expectations, and policy trends discussed internationally and decided upon in meetings in the World Health Organisation (WHO) in Geneva often influence workforce planning, professional roles, medicines policy, and patient safety closer to home.
This year, the FIP delegation brought together pharmacy leaders, practitioners, academics, and early-career professionals from across the world to widen pharmacy’s influence during a critical week for global health policy.
The delegation’s advocacy was aimed at demonstrating the contribution pharmacists make to health systems and patient care worldwide.
Across the week, pharmacy expertise was represented in discussions on medicines access, workforce development, self-care, and health system resilience. FIP also made formal interventions and hosted dedicated side events, ensuring that pharmacy was visible as an essential part of the wider health policy conversation.
For the PDA, this kind of international engagement is not simply about being present at important events. It is about showing leadership for pharmacists by making sure that its 40,000+ membership has a voice in the rooms where ideas are formed, alliances are built, and future policy directions begin to take shape.
As well as being invited to many policy forum discussions, the PDA Chairman, Mark Koziol, was invited to represent UK pharmacists on a policy panel regarding the roll out of services in community pharmacy. He was also able to develop the PDA’s humanitarian programme ‘Medicines To’ with discussions with the International Red Cross as well as other countries’ national pharmacy body representatives.
That international perspective strengthens the PDA’s ability to speak up for pharmacists in the UK. It means bringing back global evidence, stronger networks, and a wider understanding of what good pharmacy leadership looks like, so that UK government policy affecting pharmacists and patients can be tested against the best of international practice rather than accepted uncritically.
Too often in the UK, pharmacy has been expected to adapt to policies shaped locally, including by NHS leaders and commissioners, without enough independent professional challenge when proposals risk weakening standards, narrowing professional autonomy or creating avoidable risks for patient care. Leadership in those circumstances means being prepared to challenge direction when it is questionable, not simply to align with it.
By maintaining direct links with WHO and strong relationships with leading pharmacy organisations internationally, the PDA is better placed to bring independent insight, evidence, and perspective into UK debates. That helps the PDA to challenge poor thinking, support better policymaking and defend a model of pharmacy practice that is safe, professional, and led by the interests of patients as well as pharmacists.
PDA Chairman, Mark Koziol said, “Leadership in pharmacy is not about waiting to see what others decide and then falling into line. It is about shaping the agenda, bringing independent judgement to policy debates and being willing to challenge direction when it is not good enough for the profession or for patients. By engaging internationally, the PDA strengthens its ability to do exactly that.”
Learn more
- Why has PDA joined the International Pharmaceutical Federation? (FIP)
- PDA signs Copenhagen Declaration on Antimicrobial Resistance
- PDA reflects on FIP Congress 2025: a global platform for pharmacy progress
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