Afro Newsletter

8/9/2019 Afro Newsletter

1/14AfRO Newsle er

AfRO Newsletter


2/14AfRO Newsle er

H ello AfRO It gives me great pleasure to intro-duce the new AfRO year and thenew African Regional WorkingGroup.

We are excited to begin our man-

dates and have many ini a ves wewish to complete and with yourhelp, take AfRO to great heights

Please enjoy our rst newsle erand watch this space for more tocome :)

NigelRMPO

www.afro.ipsf.org

www.facebook.com/IPSFAfRO

www.twi er.com/IPSFAfRO

[email protected]

Contact us:

Editorial


3/14AfRO Newsle er

Editorial ..2 Contents..3 Chairperson..4 Regional Rela ons O cer.....6 Regional Projects O cer....7 Secretary.8 4th IPSF AfPS Chairperson..9 Regional Media & Publica ons O cer.......10 Upcoming Events....11 61st World Congress....12

4th IPSF AfPS..13

Contents

International

Pharmaceutical

Students'

Federation

PO Box 84200

2508 AE Den Haag

The Netherlands.

Tel.: +31 70 302 1992

Fax: +31 70 302 1999


4/14AfRO Newsle er

Chairperson

Hello IPSFers around the world allow me to intro-duce myself. My name is Prosper Maposa, the VicePresident of the Interna onal Pharmaceu cal Stu-dents Federa on (IPSF) (2014 - 15) and the Chairper-son of the IPSF African Regional O ce (AfRO) (2013 15) from the sunshine city of Harare, Zimbabwe. Pro-fessionally, I am a Research Fellow in nanomedicine

at the University of Zimbabwe School of Pharmacyand also the Pharmacy Projects Coordinator for astart -up interna onal pharmaceu cal company oper-a ng in Zimbabwe. I look forward to mee ng as manyIPSFers as I can during the 2014 -15 mandate.

As the Chairperson of the African Regional O ce I amhonoured to be working with a skilful and mo vatedRegional Working Group (RWG) and a focused ande cient Execu ve Commi ee (ExCO). Leadership isnot theore cal, we learn how to lead by being lead-ers in prac ce. During the mandate we plan to collab-orate with all the other regions of IPSF, try out new

approaches to reach out to member organiza onsand keep on approaching poten al member coun-tries so that we can be a part of the growth and de-velopment of IPSF. Realis cally speaking we expect tomeet challenges but no ma er how di cult the cir-cumstances we will be ready to pick ourselves up,dust ourselves o and learn from the situa ons as wemove on.

D ear IPSFers all over the World, In a dynamic World where change is the only con-stant the science and prac ce of pharmacy ischanging with it. It is our mandate to shape an in-nova ve future for the next genera on of phar-macists and pharmaceu cal scien sts. If the nextgenera on is to look at the past for lessons and

inspira on our duty is to be the architects of thefuture. Let us be the change that we want to seeand make the World a be er place than the statethat we found it in. The best way to do it (for meat leastJ) is to enjoy the World whilst improving it. Prosper Maposa

If the next genera on is to look at the past for lessons and inspira-

on our duty is to be the architects of the future


5/14AfRO Newsle er

It was memorable and breath takingmee ng IPSFers at the 3 rd IPSF AfricanPharmaceu cal Symposium (AfPS) inVictoria Falls, Zimbabwe and at the 60 th IPSF World Congress in Portugal. Nextyear July and August we meet again inRwanda for the 4 th IPSF AfPS and in In-dia for the 61 st IPSF World Congress re-spec vely. As the global economy ght-ens and more graduates are being pro-duced, the compe on for jobs and op-

portuni es further intensi es. Even at aglobal level downsizing, outsourcingand a need for pharmacists to showtheir worth to the bo om line meanscareer compe on is escala ng. Imag-ine an exposure that might mean thedi erence between a mediocre and an

excep onal breakthrough. Ge ng to-gether at events is only the beginning,ge ng to know one another is progressand from these fundamental steps wecan then be able to work together andour success as a federa on will be guar-anteed. See you at the next IPSF Event.

Yours in IPSF,

Prosper Maposa ChP of the IPSF African RegionalO ce (2013 15) IPSF Vice President (2014 - 15)

[email protected] [email protected]

The African Regional O ce cur-rently has 10 member countriesin IPSF. I would like to welcomewith joy Ivory Coast a new mem-ber country that joined IPSF dur-ing the 60 th General Assembly inPortugal hopefully we can ex-pand more into the Frenchspeaking West African countriesregion. We will con nue withour membership promo on

e orts during the year both in

the West and the South and alsolook forward to more full mem-bership applica ons from theMembers in Associa on. Parallelto the membership promo ondrive the African regional o cewill also lean toward improvingthe quality and repor ng struc-ture of the ac vi es, campaignsand workshops run by membercountries.

Chairperson cont...

The African Regional O ce currently has 10 member countries in IPSF
mailto:[email protected]:[email protected]:[email protected]:[email protected]:[email protected]:[email protected]


6/14AfRO Newsle er

Im from Rwanda, the heart of Africa, the green undu-la ng landscape of hills, gardens and tea planta ons.home to one third of the world remaining MountainGorillas, one third of Africa's bird species, several spe-cies of primates, Volcanoes, Congo - Nile Trail, resortsand islands on the expansive Lake Kivu, graceful danc-ers, ar s c cra s and friendly people.Since 2011, when I joined Pharmacy school at the Uni-versity of Rwanda, I have been keen to explore Phar-macy. Trough RPSA, I came across IPSF, and IPSF de-

ned Pharmacy in many more ways than I could havethought of and gave me a hope to realize everything Icould have dreamed of. This led to me working as Re-gional Rela ons O cer of the IPSF African RegionalO ce for the 2015 -2014 mandate.

When I started serving as Student Exchange O cer forRwanda, I got exposed to what RPSA Team is and theirwork, with an amazing Student Exchange Commi eeand Chairperson of Student Exchange, I discoveredhow cool and brain s mula ng it can be to be part ofIPSF. I then decided to travel to Zimbabwe for the 3 rd African Pharmaceu cal Symposium which ended upbeing one the best experience I ever got since I joined

Pharmacy school. With a goal and zeal to be part ofthe IPSF winning team, I vied for my post and eventu-ally won. Im looking forward to become a be er me empow-ered by all ac vi es and opportuni es IPSF exposeyou to. For these few months I have been serving, Irealized that my communica on and leadership skillsimproved gradually, as I have to o er guidance andsolu ons on di erent issues. When I have to give in-puts and comments in mee ngs. I got to know moreabout professional development, Public health andpharmacy educa on ac vi es. Im ge ng be in-formed on global issues and engage myself on array ofglobal problem and most importantly, the process ofproblem solving. Im just growing in all facets of the

profession. I hope to discover trough IPSF di erent places and cul-tures, make many more friends from all corners of theworld. I truly relate to the fact which is that one never getsout of IPSF, there is no post IPSF -life, once an IPSFer,always an IPSFer, there is an entrance into IPSF butnot an exit.

Regional Relations Officer

I m a 4 th year Pharmacy Student at theUniversity of Rwanda. Passionate about

research, aspire to be an advocate forpa ent -centered care and commi ed toproviding an op mized quality of care. I spend my me reading, wri ng and sto-rytelling as an ac ve blogger and socialmedia enthusiast. Also interested aboutyouth empowerment and engage withfellow youth on di erent pla orms in thecountry to discuss on di erent ma ers

concerning us.

Israel Bimpe


7/14AfRO Newsle er

Regional Projects Officer

Amina Ndope

C rea ng In nite Ripples. My journey with the Federa on started just like any oth-ers. First, some over -enthusias c individual tells youabout this en ty theyve experienced called IPSF that hasso many exci ng faucets, people and opportuni es. Their

over-enthusiasm generates a ny spark of interest whichcompels you to go online and nd out exactly what the

whole fuss is about.

Then you end up spending hours and hours mesmer-ized by the discovery of thousands of pharmacy stu-dents throughout the world just like you, doing mindblowing things while they develop in the professionand thus, the obsession begins. Well at least this washow my journey began back in 2012.

I am Amina Ndope, the Regional Projects O cer of theAfRO regional o ce and about to graduate a er a veyear training in a Bachelors degree of pharmacy. A erbeing introduced to the world of IPSF, I was itching toget involved and therefore started out as a local con-tact person, went on to become the contact person ofthe na onal associa on, NUPSA (Nairobi UniversityPharmacy Students Associa on), which later evolvedto KEPhSA (Kenya Pharmacy Students Associa on) dueto the expansion of pharmacy professional training inthe country. I later

served in the editorial commi ee, before vying for theposi on of Regional Projects O cer. Throughout myinvolvement in di erent se ngs,I have been fortunate to learn immensely about servi-tude, people, leadership and self; Lessons I hope tocarry throughout the rest of my journey with you dur-ing my tenure.

I have always been fascinated by the possibility of link-ing people of di erent cultures and personali es withthe same goals and aspira ons and IPSF o ers exactlythat. As a pharmacist in training, you can begin tomake a di erence in peoples lives right at this mo-ment. Aim to have a hands on approach to the prac ceby par cipa ng or organizing various projects includingpublic health campaigns, workshops and events fo-cused on professional development.

This year, our focus project as the African Regional O ce is Pharmacy Pro- fessional Awareness Campaign.


8/14AfRO Newsle er

More So, repor ng the incrediblehings that you manage to achieve in

your local associa on provides a win-dow for the world on what goes on inyour se ng and can inspire someoneeading it to implement the same inheir locality.

This year, our focus project as the Afri-an Regional O ce is Pharmacy Pro-essional Awareness Campaign. This

par cular project aims at informing thepublic about the crucial role the phar-macist has in healthcare and address-ng misconcep ons that may exist re-

garding the pharmacy profession,herefore building a be er rapport

with them. Although a campaign kit

will be coming up soon, dont hesitateo integrate this awareness campaignn the other campaigns that you do in

your calendar of ac vi es. A thing assimple as prin ng out a brochure onthe roles of a pharmacist quali es!

As professionals of the the new ageAfrica, we have the capability to makechanges beyond what has previouslybeen achieved, and have been o eredthe pla orm to do so. A Professor Dex-ter Tagwire, during the 3rd AfPS saidthat Pharmacists are by nature andtraining brilliant, and all seem to pos-sess the I cubed factor, a quality thatde nes us as inventors, innovators andini ators of things. Communi es arecore in our existence. To act on thesequali es of innova on, inven on andini a on can make an impact in our

communi es which will create in niteripples.

SecretaryMy name is Liniah Mumbengegwi andI am a graduate of the Rhodes Univer-

sity Faculty of Pharmacy in South Afri-ca. It is a great honour and previlageto be a part of this years African Re-gional Working Group ()ARWG) as theSecretary for a second term,.

A er becoming involved with theSouth African Pharmacy Students Fed-era on (SAPSF), I realized that there isso much more I could do for Pharmacyin Africa as a whole. This calling foundanswer by my joining IPSF on the sub-commi ee of Medicine Awarenessand on the commi ee the ARWG.

As Secretary, my responsibili esinclude ensuring that the regional

o ce runs smoothly and to maintainContact with all stakeholders. It is myhope that we con nue to grow asleaders of tomorrow and as a federa-

on.

It was once said, Coming together is a beginning; keeping together is progress; working together is success.

Here is to another successful year! Liniah Mumbengegwi


9/14AfRO Newsle er

4th IPSF AfRO Symposium

Chairperson

I am UWASE Marie Ange, 4 th year pharmacystudent at University of Rwanda -Huye campus,

College of Medicine and Health Sciences,School of Medicine and Department ofPharmacy.

I believe that Pharmacists are experts of medi-cines and my role as future pharmacist is toensure the quality, availability, accessibility andra onal use of pharmaceu cal products. But Icannot stop asking to myself those ques ons: Ifwe are really studying 5 years or 6 years to be-come experts of medicines, why Polypharmacyprac ces are s ll happening in our countries?

Why the majority of medica on errors are s lloccurring at prescrip on and dispensing levels?Why pa ents are dying of irra onal use ofmedicines? Are we real pharmacists orcalled pharmacists?

Pharmacists, let us stand rmly in our posi onsand ght for our good professional image. Letus improve public con dence by ensuring thesafe use of medicines. Let us document asmuch as we can to provide good health careservices to our popula on (pa ents).Let us joinour e orts, work as one team and we shall ful-

ll our responsibili es.

A live pharmacist saves lives of many people.

Uwase Marie Ange


10/14AfRO Newsle er

Regional Media and

Publications Officer

D ear IPSFers My name is Nigel Sibanda, the new Re-gional Media and Publica ons O cer. I am delighted to be part of this team ofmovers, shakers, innovators and ini atorsyou know as the African Regional WorkingGroup (ARWG).

I am a recent graduate of the Rhodes UniversityFaculty of Pharmacy in Grahamstown, SouthAfrica. Besides pharmacy, I have a great passionfor emerging technologies in social media and therelated elds. In todays fast moving world,these technologies have become key in our communica on and there is no excuse for ourprofession not to link its progress with the rest ofthe technological world.

From my early years in varsity, I have always beeneager to get involved in our profession at a leveldeeper than academic par cipa on. I joined theRhodes University Pharmacy Students Associa onas the Media and Entertainment Representa ve.

This allowed me to ful l my zeal to explore theworld of media within pharmacy .Later on, myo ce on the Presiden al Commi ee of the SouthAfrican Pharmacy Students Federa on (SAPSF) asthe Media and Communica ons o cer movedme closer to this passion.

I plan to con nue to strive to put pharmacy onthe map and to provide the world withinforma on to reverse stereotypes that seepharmacist as just pill pushers behind thecounter. To teach that we research, manufacture,diagnose, prescribe, and are s ll the custodians ofmedicine.

Nigel Sibanda


11/14AfRO Newsle er

1

Upcoming events

WORLD CONGRESS

The World Congress is the momentous ac vity ofthe Interna onal Pharmaceu cal Students Federa-

on. It is the biggest annual gathering of pharmacystudents across the world at one place. It is a 10day event held in a di erent country every year,where, Presidents of Interna onal Pharmaceu calStudents Associa ons, pharmacy students and pro-fessionals from nearly 85 countries par cipate. Itserves as a pla orm to discuss issues related to the

eld of pharmacy globally, which can help in a ain-ing uni ca on of the pharmacy educa on acrossthe globe.

It is a one -stop Conference for:

Establishing a permanent form ofcontact with representa veorganiza ons of pharmaceu -

cal students as well as co -opera ng with each member organiza on onexclusively scien c, educa onal and culturalplanes, the Federa on being non -poli cal AGLOBAL CONTACT-POINT EVENT!

Promo ng exchange of ideas, challenges and is-sues faced by students globally, represen ngthe opinions of pharmaceu cal students in dis-cussions with professional, governmental and

non -governmental organiza ons and encourag-ing full dissemina on of scien c and profes-sional knowledge - AN ALL-INCLUSIVE CONFLU-ENCE OF PHARMACY AND KNOWLEDGE.

Exchange of cultures and history. Celebra ngpharmacy like never before! AN ENRICHINGEXPERIENCE!

Registra on Opening Date: 4th January

Register Online at: h ps://ipsf2015.org/main/regprocess.html

AFRICAN PHARMACEUTICAL SYMPOSIUM

The IPSF African Pharmaceu cal Symposium (AfPS)is an interna onal event held annually for pharma-cy students, recent graduates and pharmacy pro-fessionals especially in the African region.

The program includes a symposia on topics of phar-maceu cal interest and of scien c and educa on-al nature, mee ngs and workshops, a pre -AfPStraining program and several social events.

The 4th African Pharmaceu cal Symposium to beheld in Rwanda in July 2015 will see more than 300delegates from over 10 African countries and oth-ers from all over the world travel to Rwanda.

Registra on Opening Date: 1st February

Register Online at: h p://www.afps2015.org/


12/14AfRO Newsle er

61st IPSF World Congress


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1

4th IPSF African Pharmaceutical Symposium


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PO Box 84200

2508 AE Den Haag

The Netherlands.

Tel.: +31 70 302 1992

Fax: +31 70 302 1999

InternationalPharmaceuticalStudents'Federation

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Afro Newsletter