AIHP’s Board of Directors has affirmed the Institute’s support for the “Stand Against Racial Injustice” announced by thirteen national pharmacy organizations in a joint statement on June 5, 2020.
Issued in response to the deaths of George Floyd, Breonna Taylor, Ahmaud Arbery, and too many others, the joint statement of the national pharmacy organizations recognizes that:
Adding to the challenges of the global pandemic of COVID-19, which disproportionately impact communities of color, there is a greater public health crisis plaguing our country: racism and discrimination. People of color and other marginalized groups experience a continuum of systemic racism, discrimination, and injustices that result in ongoing health inequities created by numerous factors impacting social determinants of health.
The joint statement calls for “intentional dialogue and action” and commits the pharmacy profession to addressing health care disparities, providing education on social injustices and systemic challenges impacting health care, developing strategies to address health care disparities, and continuing dialogue among pharmacy organizations and stakeholders to identify and implement change. Please read the full text of the joint statement.
AIHP President W. Clarke Ridgway voiced the Institute’s strong support for the pharmacy profession’s stand against racial injustice, saying: “We join our fellow professional organizations in the call to dismantle discriminatory systems and processes, identify and rectify racist attitudes, and to ensure equal access to health care services and resources for all.”
President Ridgway said that AIHP “must strive to see that the historical record of the many facets of pharmacy be as complete and inclusive as possible. We must learn to understand each other’s history if we are to fully understand each other.”
The American Institute of the History of Pharmacy is documenting and preserving pharmacy stories and experiences during the COVID-19 global pandemic for the benefit of future historians and scholars. We seek to record the effects of this public health emergency on all types of pharmacy experiences. We invite you to share your pharmacy stories, photos, videos, artifacts, and other documentation of the COVID-19 coronavirus pandemic.