About us and our objectives
The Military and Emergency Pharmacy Section (MEPS) is one of FIP’s smallest and most specialised sections.
Military pharmacy has long been recognised as being separate from community and hospital pharmacy and that is why the Military Pharmacy Section of FIP was officially created in 1953.
Although military health logistics is undertaken by military pharmacists, the logistics operations of many non-governmental organisations are undertaken by emergency pharmacists; The work of the emergency pharmacists was also recognized as being different and separate to the other pharmacy disciplines but similar to military pharmacy. Therefore in 1966, the Section welcomed the emergency pharmacists, and became the Military and Emergency Pharmacy Section.
Military and emergency pharmacists, when not in their home locations, practise in more arduous and demanding conditions than many of their civilian colleagues. Military medical services often work closely with international and local organisations in humanitarian and disaster relief (HA/DR) situations. MEPS have 134 members representing 40 countries (March 2023).
Our aim is to establish close cooperation between pharmacists in the military and NGOs that respond in times of emergency, whether the emergency is as a result of a natural disaster or manmade. This is achieved through a network of dedicated pharmacists collaborating on topics related to the pharmacy practice in this unique environment.
MEPS members have as their mission the study of all issues, challenges and opportunities relating to military and emergency pharmacy, including the supply chain and workforce aspects, on an international basis with a view to providing sustainable solutions.
How we work
The MEPS board is an elected body responsible for the section’s administration, the dissemination of information to members, the coordination of meetings and congress gatherings and for liaison with the FIP boards.
The board is composed of a president, three vice presidents (all elected for a four-year term), an immediate past president, a permanent secretary and a treasurer. The current board is as follows:
President (2022-2026) |
Cdr Sylvain Grenier (Canada), Bio | ||
Immediate Past President |
SnrCol Chen Zheng-yu (China), Bio | ||
Secretary (2024-2025) |
Ms Petra Straight (Australia), Bio | ||
Vice President/Treasurer (2022-2026) |
Col Richard Wosolsobe (Austria), Bio | ||
Vice President/Special Project Officer Regulatory Affairs (2022-2026) |
Col Matthias Meyer (Germany) | ||
Vice President/Communications Officer (2024-2028) |
Dr Nita Sood (USA) | ||
Official ICMM-MEPS Liaison Officer |
Mr Bernd Klaubert (Germany) | ||
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Emergency Pharmacologistics | Ms Pernille Miller (Denmark) | ||
Emergency Pharmacy | Mr Eiko Kobayashi (Japan) | ||
Halal Medicines | Brig Gen Dato' Halim Basari (Malaysia) |
Contact us at meps@fip.org
Click to download the MEPS statutes, adopted in September 1996, in a pdf.
History
Thanks to the outstanding files of General Pharmacist Dr Hans Joachim Krauss, Germany and valuable information by Ragnar Rydberg and Peter Rollason, we can give you the section history until 1994. Invaluable record keeping by Secretaries Bob van Damme, Ivan van Poucke and Jane Dawson have enabled the sharing of information from 1995 to the present day.
Annual report
The MEPS annual report is available here.