IPSF Statement on Polio Transition Planning

delivered at the 142nd WHO Executive Board Meeting

 


Statement on the 142nd WHO EB agenda point

3.4 Polio Transition Planning

The International Pharmaceutical Students’ Federation is the voice of over 350,000

pharmacy students and recent graduates in 88 different countries worldwide.

IPSF agrees with the proposed transition planning as put forward by the Director-
General report. While the transition period poses certain unprecedented challenges, it
also presents opportunities to discover key areas in which to divert common efforts.

IPSF believes utmost care should be taken when focusing on countries with the most
fragile health systems to ensure stability in the transition and to maintain general
operating capacities with respect to public health. IPSF also commends the urgency
with which the most critical countries were addressed during the 67th session of the
WHO RC for Africa in 2017. Furthermore, the proposed dedicated and transparent web
page to track developments in the transition planning should prove to be beneficial.

As noted in Annex I of the report, several Member States aim to maintain

immunizations within their transition plans, both in surveillance to ensure early
detection in potential emerging cases, as well as in service delivery. IPSF believes that
in this transition, and in the phasing out of bivalent OPVs towards IPVs for sustained
immunization in the years to come, pharmacists can play a central role in reaching
these aims. With sufficient supporting legislature, presumed investments into the
existing health workforce would mostly need to focus on attaining competencies in
immunization, where necessary.

IPSF also believes the broader use of funds and existing assets in emergency
preparedness deserves attention. The eventual transition and diminishing funds should
be carried out in a way that preserves as many assets as possible, to prevent a
potential domino effect that would impact these countries’ educational systems and
training, particularly in pharmaceutical care and health in general.