Israel Bimpe Thursday made history when he became the first African to be elected president of the International Pharmaceutical Students Federation (IPSF) The Rwandan national was elected during the 62nd IPSF World congress held in Harare, Zimbabwe. The congress is running under the theme “ Navigating through a changing healthcare landscape: Quest for Pharmaceutical. Bimpe told Sunday Times that the milestone was a result of his active participation in various global organisations and promised to engage the UN in their daily operations. “I had a very successful term as vice president and chairperson of African Regional Office of IPSF, with considerable achievements over the years. The general assembly from global organisations believed in me as being the best positioned in our partnership drive. “My plans are to consolidate our policy strategies, tap into the potential we have to engage the UN and achieve a consultative status as soon as possible. We also intend to amplify the marketing and branding strategy of our federation. More work will be dedicated to improve our internal day-to-day operations,” he said. Founded in London in 1949, the IPSF is one of the world’s oldest international student volunteer organisations. It is the leading international advocacy organisation for pharmacy students with the aim of promoting improved public health through provision of information, education, networking as well as a range of publications and professional initiatives. Today, the federation represents over 350,000 pharmacy students and young graduates from 84 countries worldwide. Bimpe holds a Bachelors Degree in pharmacy from the University of Rwanda and served as the president of Rwanda Pharmaceutical students Association (RPSA) between 2014 and 2015. RPSA is one of the most active student’s organisations in Rwanda with national and International pharmaceutical students from University of Rwanda and Mount Kenya University. It organised the 7th International Pharmaceutical Symposium and hosted the IPSF African Pharmaceutical Symposium in 2015. editorial@newtimes.co.rw
