Pharmacies will ask members of the public to donate to a new 'Medicines to Gaza' campaign, the Pharmacists' Defence Association (PDA) has announced.

This follows last year's 'Medicines to Ukraine' initiative, which raised over £3m to purchase and deliver much-needed essential medicines following the Russian invasion of the country.

Over the next few weeks, pharmacies will begin displaying posters inviting members of the public to support the 'Medicines to Gaza' campaign, the PDA said.

Financial donations needed

A PDA spokesperson told The Pharmacist that the campaign was asking for financial donations rather than contributions of medicines themselves.

'The public may donate random items, they might not be what is actually needed and there can be no record of if they have been stored properly, expiry dates, etc and it can be hard to manage, without quality standards such medicines can’t be used in a hospital setting, and that can literally mean sometimes all that can be done with donations is to dig a big pit and dispose of them,' they said.

The PDA has previously reported that well-intended donations of medicines to Ukraine had gone to waste for this reason.

Instead, pharmacists in a neighbouring or nearby country will liaise with pharmacists in the crisis area about what medicines are needed. They will then acquire them from relatively local supply chains and get them to where they need to be.

The spokesperson also noted that financial donations would be easier to get into the crisis zone than masses of small boxes.

Dr Amjed Dawahidy, a representative of the Union of Palestinian Pharmaceutical Manufacturers (UPPM) in Gaza, described the impact of the border closures on access to medicines.

'There is nothing in pharmacies... no analgesic, no anti-diabetic medication, no anti-hypertension, no antibiotics', he told The Pharmacist today.

And Ouf Awadallah, UPPM chief executive confirmed that medicine was 'completely unavailable' in the Gaza strip.

Mr Awadallah added that providing aid through local partners was 'absolutely crucial', as it would support local business and ensure a safe passage for the aid to reach Gaza.

International efforts to support medicines supply to Gaza

Other national pharmacy organisations will also be supporting the campaign, including The Egyptian Organisation for Pharmacy, The Jordanian Pharmacists’ Association, The Malaysian Pharmacists’ Society, The Medicines to Africa Campaign – South Africa and the Order of Pharmacists of Lebanon.

And according to the PDA, several other countries have confirmed that they will be joining the programme in the very near future.

It is the latest development in a wider 'Medicines to' concept. This is part of 'Humanity Rx', an initiative recently launched by the International Pharmaceutical Federation (FIP).

At what the PDA described as an 'emotional' signing ceremony at the annual FIP conference in South Africa, PDA chair Mark Koziol said: 'There are a lot of bad things happening in the world, and today is an opportunity for pharmacists to do something good.

'I am enormously proud that we have been able to persuade FIP and the National Pharmacy Leadership organisations from across four different regions of the world to join this important initiative and this is just the start. This gives significant capacity for our profession to work together to bring humanitarian relief to the people of Gaza.'

Earlier this year, UPPM representatives told The Pharmacist that clinicians in Gaza were unable to supply essential common medications. They said this was exacerbating loss of life among older people and those who are chronically ill.