It’s widely known that 90% of Americans live within five miles of the nearest pharmacist – making pharmacists the most accessible healthcare provider in the U.S. As Doctors of Pharmacy are given more prescribing and treatment authority, their role becomes even more valuable.
Now consider that many countries around the globe lack availability of these most essential healthcare professionals. Many countries face a scarcity of medication access and basic healthcare education. According to the World Health Organization, low-income countries have as few as one pharmacist per 10,000 people. This lack of trained pharmacists taxes health systems globally and prevents many from getting necessary care.
That’s just one aspect of global health equity to which Ralph Altiere, PhD, Dean of the CU Skaggs School of Pharmacy, has been dedicating much of his professional service time. And, why he was singled out on the international stage to be the first recipient of the International Pharmaceutical Federation’s (FIP) Award for Exceptional Leadership at the recent FIP World Congress in Cape Town, South Africa.
The award was presented during the opening ceremony of the 82nd FIP World Congress of Pharmacy and Pharmaceutical Sciences by Mr. Daragh Connolly, Chairman of the FIP Board of Pharmaceutical Practice.
“It was my privilege to present this new three-yearly FIP Award for Exceptional Leadership to Professor Ralph Altiere as its first recipient,” Connolly said. “His inclusive vision and energetic leadership have been pivotal in our federation’s successes . . . Professor Altiere exemplifies the qualities of a great leader in pharmacy.”
According to FIP, Dr. Altiere has contributed to the organization through many leadership roles including chair of FIP Education, president of FIP’s Academic Pharmacy Section, and director of the FIP-UNESCO-UNITWIN program. Altiere has also been active on a number of FIP committees, including the Congress Program Committee and the Academic Institutional Membership initial advisory committee, and was among the many who participated in launching the Pharmaceutical Workforce Development Goals and the Nanjing Statements on Pharmacy and Pharmaceutical Sciences Education at the 2016 FIP Conference on Pharmacy and Pharmaceutical Sciences Education in Nanjing, China. He currently serves as co-chair of the task force for updating the Nanjing Statements.
For over 12 years, he has promoted FIP Education to academic pharmacy associations in every World Health Organization region. Recognised as a fellow of FIP in 2016, Altiere recently established an Industrial Pharmacy Education Working Group within FIPEd to develop guidance for establishing pharmacy education programs to support the workforce in countries developing their own pharmaceutical industry. His most recent FIP initiative includes formation of a global Advisory Committee for FIPEd with representatives from regional academic associations.
“I’m deeply honored to receive this award,” Altiere said. “I could not have engaged with these international initiatives were it not for the support of my wife, family, institution and colleagues. This has truly been the opportunity of a lifetime to engage with the global pharmacy education community.”
Altiere extended special appreciation to the clinical pharmacists, pharmacy educators and pharmaceutical researchers with whom he has interacted over the years.
“They’re the ones who are the innovators. They’re the ones who are advancing education and the profession,” Altiere said. “I owe a debt of gratitude to all of those who have supported and inspired me in this work.”
As Dean of the CU Skaggs School of Pharmacy and Pharmaceutical Sciences, Altiere has been instrumental in supporting the Distance Degree Programs which provided global PharmD education through the International and North American PharmD offerings, as well as developing multiple partnerships with universities and healthcare systems around the world that provided new opportunities for our faculty and students to engage in global pharmacy education.
The International Pharmaceutical Federation (FIP) is the global body representing over 4 million pharmacists and pharmaceutical scientists. We work to meet the world's healthcare needs. FIP is a non-governmental organization that has been in official relations with the World Health Organization since 1948.
