71st International Congress of FIP (International Pharmaceutical Federation) organised

The five-day 71st International Congress of FIP (International Pharmaceutical Federation) inaugurated by President Pratibha Patil on 4 September 2011 concluded on 8 September in Hyderbad. The World Health Organisation and the International Pharmaceutical Federation (FIP) signed a joint-statement on the role of pharmacists in tuberculosis care and control on the inaugural day of the conference. The joint-statement envisages a series of measures to help detect tuberculosis, offer treatment support to patients and substantially reduce the number of deaths due to it.

During the conference the Pharmacy Council of India (PCI) urged the Union government not to permit the opening of new colleges in the country, except in the northeast, Bihar, Jharkhand and Chhattisgarh. The PCI pointed out that the mushrooming of pharmacy colleges in India created an imbalance.

The vast number of institutions in the country posed a major challenge to the foremost challenge in pharmacy education.

Currently India has 700 pharmacy degree colleges. Andhra Pradesh has 300 pharmaceutical colleges- the highest number in the country. As many as 300 colleges in the country were operating on the basis of preliminary clearances given by the All India Council for Technical Education (AICTE) and a conduct of courses permission by the PCI. One of the problems in pharmacy education was regulation by both the AICTE and the PCI. The PCI hence urged the government to remove this dual regulation.