Self-care essential for primary health care. Pharmacists critical for self-care and Universal Health Coverage

The 2018 Astana Declaration on Primary Health Care (PHC) emphasised integrated, accessible and people-centred health services as fundamental to Universal Health Coverage (UHC) provided a strong global policy mandate to integrate pharmacists more effectively into non-communicable diseases (NCD) prevention and self-care initiatives. In this context, FIP is hosting a side event at the World Health Assembly 2026 to showcase the contribution of pharmacists to self-care, its impact on PHC and the subsequent delivery of UHC.

There is a clear opportunity to better integrate pharmacists into national and global self-care strategies, in alignment with existing policy frameworks, to maximise their contribution to population health and health system strengthening. Therefore, the session will focus on the global health and policy impact of self-care, demonstrating how pharmacy workforce integration can support the implementation of the World Health Organization Framework on Self-Care and that pharmacy can support these policies with partners across all sectors.

The session will bring together policymakers, health professionals and global health partners to explore practical strategies to strengthen self-care through community-based services and community pharmacy, tailored to patient and public health needs, with an imperative for investment in services for maximal returns.