FIP, as the global leader for pharmacy, has taken the initiative to build the “FIP World List of Pharmacy Schools”, which will be the most comprehensive and up-to-date list of pharmacy institutions from around the world. This global list is intended to guide all pharmacy stakeholders, from students to policymakers, in assessing the appropriateness and effectiveness of pharmacy education strategies. The availability, completeness and quality of FIP’s World List of Pharmacy Schools means it will provide a unique source of information for pharmaceutical workforce policies, procedures and plans.
Further background on the FIP World List of Pharmacy Schools:
The FIP World List of Pharmacy Schools is an initiative to monitor pharmaceutical capacity and capability, similar to those of many other global organisations, such as the World Medical Schools List held by the World Medical Association. Given 2021 is the World Health Organization’s Year of Health and Care Workers, the need for our global organisations to demonstrate increased capacity in all health workers is key to ensure our professions are not further diminished but amplified.
FIP is a founder member of the World Health Professions Alliance (WHPA) with doctors, nurses, dentists, and physiotherapists. All WHPA members have been requested to feedback their schools’ status to the WHO as part of pandemic preparedness, and FIP having a list of accredited pharmacy schools will help to identify where schools may be needed and created to ensure long-term pharmaceutical workforce capacity.
University of Malawi
College of Medicine, Department of Pharmacy
The College of Medicine of the state-owned University of Malawi was founded in 1991. It is the first and only medical faculty in the country, and is situated in the city of Blantyre, the economic centre of Malawi. In 2006, the College of Medicine established its Pharmacy Department, and the first group of pharmacists graduated in 2011. Due to the strong demand, the number of BSc Pharm students has been increased from initially 20 to currently 40-60 per year.
The BSc Pharm course at the University of Malawi comprises a four-year university education and is followed by a one-year practical education. In the first academic year, basic sciences are learnt together with the students of medicine. The subjects in the 2nd, 3rd, and 4th year of the pharmacy curriculum are similar to those in most schools of pharmacy worldwide. As an additional key subject, “Management of Drug and Medical Supplies“ is taught, concentrating on the managerial and logistic procedures of drug supply systems in resource-poor settings.
Already during their university years, students visit private pharmacies and hospital pharmacies, the Central Medical Stores Trust, the pharmaceutical industry and the wards of the teaching hospitals. They also develop a research project and carry it out in health service facilities or in a pharmaceutical laboratory.
The internship year, following the university education, is organized by the responsible national authority in Malawi (Pharmacy, Medicines and Poisons Board). Six months are completed in hospital pharmacies, and two months each in a private pharmacy, in the pharmaceutical industry and in the Central Medical Stores Trust.
The College of Medicine offers various postgraduate degrees open to BSc Pharm graduates. Specific postgraduate courses in Pharmacy are currently being developed. The Pharmacy Department has formal collaborations with a number of well-known international universities and research institutions. It expects to become a Collaborating Partner of the FIP UNESCO-UNITWIN Centre of Excellence of Schools of Pharmacy in Africa in 2015.