Dr. Muhammad Mahtab Hossain Mazed

Today is Monday September 25. World Pharmacists Day 2023 It has been celebrated since 2010. Although it took another 4 years for it to happen in Bangladesh, that is, it is being celebrated in Bangladesh since 2014The first executive meeting of the International Pharmaceutical Federation (FIP) was held on September 25, 1912 in the city of The Hague, Netherlands, so September 25 was declared as the World Pharmacist Day at the Istanbul Conference held in 2009 under the initiative of the International Pharmaceutical Federation. This day has been celebrated worldwide since the following year i.e. 2010. Pharmacists around the world celebrate with the member organizations of FIP.

And in Bangladesh in 2014, the pharmacy department of a private university celebrated this day for the first time. Since then, every year the pharmacy department of each university, various pharmaceuticals, drug administration department and various pharmacy professional organizations have enthusiastically held rallies and voluntary blood donation programs, seminars and various public awareness activities in major departmental and district cities including DhakaThe day is being observed regularly.

And earlier there was no day dedicated to pharmacists worldwide. People who sell drugs in shops or work in pharmaceutical companies are called pharmacists. The context of our country is no different. Few people know that pharmacists have a versatile field beyond this. The country is moving forward, now is the time to know a little more in detail. Those who pass B Pharm (Bachelor of Pharmacy) from any public or private university pharmacy department are called Graduate Pharmacists or A-Grade Pharmacists.

These pharmacists are given A-Grade Pharmacist Registration Number from Pharmacy Council of Bangladesh, which is required in later career and is of special importance in many casesAnd we know very well, for a better life, for a prosperous nation, we want healthy and fluent people, we want intelligent, enlightened people. Staying healthy is essential for a beautiful and healthy life. Among the endless demands of life, health is the first demand. One of the basic human needs is health care.

Father of the nation Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman, as a true public hero, shaped this desire of the people in the constitution of Bangladesh by identifying health care as one of the tasks of the state. According to Article 15(a) of the Constitution of the People's Republic of Bangladesh in 1972, the provision of basic materials of life is one of the basic responsibilities of the state and according to Article 18(1) the development of the nutritional level of the people and the improvement of public health are recognized as one of the primary duties of the state.

At present, the health care that people are getting in the public and private sectors in the country needs to be improved in terms of range and quality. The motto of the National Health Policy 2011 was 'Ensure primary health and emergency medical care for all'. After the independence of Bangladesh, pharmacy was recognized as a profession and pharmacists were recognized as professionals by promulgating the Pharmacy Ordinance. Just as the role of doctors and nurses in healthcare is immense, the role of graduate pharmacist in healthcare is also essential to ensure drug preservation, quality, proper drug selection and rational use of drugs.

Graduate pharmacists apply their professional skills in the pharmaceutical industry (manufacturing, quality control, quality assurance, research and development, marketing, production planning, dispensing, regulatory affairs, business development and export) in government agencies, private hospitals, community pharmacies and educational institutionsgoingNotable among them is the radical change in the development of the pharmaceutical industry. At present, 98 percent of the medicines required by the country are produced in the country and exported to 182 countries.

Currently, graduate pharmacists are playing a significant role in major pharmaceutical companies of the countryAnd we |Currently the pharmaceutical industry in Bangladesh is in a good position. According to a survey, the country currently produces drugs worth about Tk 200 crore. Which is capable of meeting 98 percent of the drug demand within the country. Pharmacists are the biggest contributors to the growth of this industry.

Pharmacists alone can bring the term self-sufficient to the pharmaceutical industry of a country. A-grade pharmacists make the biggest contribution to this pharmaceutical industry. If we compare the position of A-grade pharmacists in Bangladesh with the developed world, we can see that their position in Bangladesh is very insignificant compared to those countries.

In the developed world, A-grade pharmacists advise and advise MBBS doctors as well as medicines related to patient healthcare and treatment. But A-grade pharmacists are rarely seen in these fields in Bangladesh. Most of the A-grade pharmacists in this country are found working in drug factories. At present, the subject of pharmacy is taught in a total of 41 universities, including public and private universities, and about four thousand graduate pharmacists pass out from there every year. A large number of them work in the pharmaceutical industry, while the rest switch to other professions or remain unemployed.

Employing graduate pharmacists in hospital pharmacy services, clinical pharmacy services and retail pharmacy services will improve the health system. Finally, I would like to say that the life of this great work is the pharmacist brothers.A pharmacist's career is not only in drug manufacturing companies but also drug research work, drug quality control through drug administration, work in the public health sector and even being an entrepreneur of a model pharmacy or model medicine shop.

The health of majority of the patients of the country depends on the hard work and honesty of the pharmacist brothers and sisters. Governments, development partners, donor agencies are all geared up to bring better medicine to the people. But this campaign will be successful only when the pharmacists come forward as the backbone of the movement for improved drug services-to deliver safe drug services to the country and the people, this great movement will succeed, that is what is desiredAnd today on World Pharmacists Day, I want to say one thing-graduate pharmacists must be valued to spread global healthcare and ensure a complete health system. Their knowledge, education and skills will take the pharmaceutical sector of this country to the top of development, as well as global health care will be spread everywhere. And this is the aim and purpose of World Pharmacists Day.

The writer is a, columnist and researcher