PLANS to host the 80th World Congress of Pharmacy and Pharmaceutical Sciences in Seville, Spain, this Sep have been abandonned due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
The Spanish city had originally being scheduled to host the event last year, but the event was switched to a virtual format as a result of the health crisis.
Announcing the decision to abandon plans to have an in-person event in 2021, the International Pharmaceutical Federation (FIP) said it would continue to deliver online education and information programs throughout the year.
In a statement released on Fri, FIP President, Dominique Jordan, said with the emergence of new variants of COVID-19 and the resulting impact the virus is having on health systems around the world, "holding a Congress in Sep would not be the right thing to do".
"We know that as many pharmacists as possible must continue to be available to patients and health systems under stress, and we would not wish to provide any means for the virus to spread," he said.
"We trust that you will understand this decision, and encourage you to take opportunities to benefit from FIP's focus on digital events.
"We hope that we will all be able to convene face to face in Seville, in principle between 18 and 22 Sep 2022, under better global circumstances so that we may celebrate, in-person, the huge contributions that pharmacy has made to global health and the advances made during the COVID-19 pandemic."
The 2021 World Congress had originally been slated to take place in Brisbane in Sep (PD 03 Aug 2018), however it has yet to be confirmed if the Queensland city with host the event in 2023.
The above article was sent to subscribers in Pharmacy Daily's issue from 08 Feb 21
To see the full newsletter, see the embedded issue below or CLICK HERE to download Pharmacy Daily from 08 Feb 21
