Wednesday, September 2, 2026

8:00 AM - 8:45 AM

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Details

Moderators: Malaysia chair to be confirmed & Mr Bader Alkhurainej, Kuwait Pharmaceutical Association, Kuwait Programme: Overview MOWE-0301 - Malaysia’s adult vaccination gap: What blocked pharmacy access and how we still move the system forward Malaysia’s adult vaccination uptake remains stubbornly low, even as preventable disease burden and system strain keep rising. Against that backdrop, our profession tried to widen safe access through community pharmacy and hit three familiar barriers that many Member Organisations will recognise. First, training. We explored pathways to train pharmacists for vaccine administration, but training alone did not unlock practice, as key stakeholders raised concerns around governance, indemnity, patient safety, and accountability. Second, the law. We met a clear legal barrier arising from a strict interpretation of pharmacists administering vaccines by injection, which froze implementation regardless of readiness. Third, access pathway. Efforts to progress vaccine reclassification (from prescription-only to pharmacist-supplied under defined conditions) did not advance, limiting workable models that could expand access with appropriate safeguards. This session is a candid case study, not a finger-pointing exercise, but a practical look at how “need and evidence” can still stall when inter-professional concerns, legal authority, and medicines classification are pulling in different directions. We will share what was proposed, what came back from the system, and how these three barriers reinforced one another. We will close by shifting from frustration to forward motion. Even without vaccination administration rights, pharmacy can still lift adult immunisation outcomes through health-system contributions: improving vaccine literacy and confidence, identifying and referring eligible adults at the right moment, strengthening cold-chain and stock management, supporting pharmacovigilance and adverse event reporting, and partnering on service redesign that reduces missed opportunities for vaccination. We will also outline how we intend to continue advocacy in a more coalition-led way by bringing more stakeholders to the table, including patient and public voices, aligned professional partners, and system leaders to improve the odds of success. Throughout, we will reference FIP resources and global precedents to stress-test approaches for safety, trust, and credible pathways for reform. MOWE-0302 – Modernising national legislation: a comprehensive draft law to advance pharmacy practice and protect professional ownership in Kuwait For three decades, pharmacy practice in Kuwait has been governed by Law No. 28 of 1996, a legislative framework that no longer reflects the rapid advancements in global health care. The Kuwait Pharmaceutical Association (KuPhA) is now spearheading a historic reform to replace this outdated statute with a comprehensive new draft law designed to secure the profession's future. This session will present the strategic depth of the new "Pharmacy Practice and Medical Products Law," highlighting four critical pillars of reform: Protecting Professional Sovereignty: The draft law decisively restricts pharmacy ownership to licensed Kuwaiti pharmacists (Article 24), establishing a legal firewall against corporate commercialisation and ensuring that patient care remains under professional leadership. Institutionalising Patient Safety: Moving beyond simple dispensing, the new law mandates the creation of a National Pharmacovigilance Center (Article 60) and a comprehensive "Track and Trace" system (Article 64) to secure the supply chain and combat counterfeit medicines. Expanding the Scope of Practice: The legislation formally recognises new entities such as "Pharmaceutical Research and Consultancy Centers" (Article 16), empowering pharmacists to lead in health policy and clinical research rather than just retail operations. Future-Proofing the Profession: The draft proactively regulates the digital frontier and biotechnology, establishing standards for electronic pharmacy platforms (Article 57) and creating legal frameworks for gene therapy and personalised medicine (Articles 83-84).

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Chairs & speakers