The theme of this year’s World Pharmacists Day*, 25th September, is “Think Health, Think Pharmacist”. The World Pharmacy Council (WPC) and its member organisations fully support World Pharmacists Day 2025, an opportunity to pause, reflect, celebrate and recognise the outstanding contribution of community pharmacists make to improving patient care across the world.

WPC President Douglas Hoey commented: “On World Pharmacists Day, the World Pharmacy Council and its national member organisations celebrate the essential role of community pharmacists in delivering person-centred care. Pharmacists deeply value the public's support, as they consistently associate health with pharmacists. We urge policymakers to extend the same level of support to ensure a sustainable, viable, and resilient community pharmacy service that is accessible and efficient for the benefit of patients.”

Community pharmacies are the most accessible and frequently visited healthcare provider in most developed countries:

• In Germany, there are more than 1 billion patient interactions per year in pharmacies, about 13 per person, and 64% of all adults use their local pharmacy at least once each month (ABDA, 2024; ABDA, 2025).

• In Portugal, pharmacies see around 570,000 people daily, representing 5% of the population, with most interactions linked to dispensing (ANF, 2025).

• 55% of Canadians visit a community pharmacy at least once a week, and see a community pharmacist up to ten times more frequently than their family physician (Raiche et al.,2021)

• Over 1.1 billion prescription items are dispensed annually in England, which is approximately 19 per person (NHSBSA, 2025).

Community pharmacists provide access to vital health interventions, enabling early disease detection and prevention, and in many countries their potential is increasingly being harnessed to provide a broad range of primary and public health services such as vaccination, treatment for common conditions, and chronic disease management.

A robust, well-resourced, and well-distributed community pharmacy network is a strategic public health and societal asset and funding for services, including the essential clinical service of dispensing, must keep pace with rising costs. On World Pharmacists Day 2025, the WPC calls on healthcare leaders around the world to recognise the true value and potential of community pharmacies in improving health outcomes for patients. Policymakers need to acknowledge dispensing as a crucial clinical service, invest in new community pharmacy services for the benefit of patients, and ensure funding models support their viability and sustainability.

*The WPC acknowledges and thanks the International Pharmaceutical Federation (FIP) as the organizers of World Pharmacists Day 2025.