The Pharmaceutical Society of Ghana (PSGH) on Tuesday launched the 10th Commonwealth Pharmacists Association (CPA) conference, which is slated in Accra from August 3 to August 9.

About 2,000 delegates are expected to attend the conference, which would be hosted by the Ministry of Health on the theme: “Managing Threats and crises: the vital role of pharmacy in an unstable world.”

The 74th PSGH annual general meeting will precede the conference.

Dr Alex Dodoo, President of the PSGH and Chairman of the Local Organising Committee said the choice of the theme was prophetic since the world is still in crisis.

“It is almost as if our choice of the theme was extremely prophetic or that we had jinxed the whole world into crisis- from the turmoil on the financial markets, through the credit crunch to floods, power outages and swine flu, which was later re-christened and exotically renamed as HINI influenza,” he said.

Dr Dodoo noted that pharmacists are not only specialists in medicines but have the expertise to contribute their lot in all aspects of society.

“Our training and expertise as pharmacist is often underestimated or overlooked by governments, hence the choice of the current theme…The medicines we discover, design and produce make an otherwise unstable world more stable and the remedies we dispense bring peace, happiness and tranquillity to minds and bodies afflicted by stress.”

Dr Dodoo said CPA 2009 would be intellectually stimulating, professionally rewarding and socially exhilarating.

“We look forward to a great and happy reunion of friends, colleagues and fellow health professionals,” he said.