Celebrating women today, and every day
A special message from the President of the Commonwealth Pharmacists Association, Annagrace Malamsha, for International Womens’ Day on March 8th, 2025.
Today, as we commemorate the International Women’s Day, we honor the relentless efforts of women, celebrate the milestones achieved, acknowledge the challenges overcome, and embrace the visions that continue to inspire more progress.
As a young woman and pharmacist, I write with the hope of inspiring millions of other women to defy the limits we are often wrongly led to believe exist. We hold the power to excel in the careers and life paths we choose—and to rise as key changemakers at individual, national, and global levels. Not just as women, but as trailblazing leaders. Today, I stand as the youngest female African President in history elected to lead the Commonwealth Pharmacists Association (CPA)—an organization committed to upskilling pharmacists, strengthening health systems, expanding access to pharmacy services, and improving the quality of care worldwide
The IWD theme, ‘For ALL Women and Girls: Rights. Equality. Empowerment.’ highlights the need to uplift women in every sector, including healthcare. As we mark this occasion, let’s reflect on the strides made and the work that remains in ensuring a more inclusive and equitable profession while recognizing the women in healthcare who are breaking the glass ceiling and inspiring others to do the same. Within and outside the health sector, women continue to face challenges such as underrepresentation in leadership, and societal norms that often limit progression, unequal access to some development opportunities, etc. Breaking these barriers requires resilience, mentorship, and systemic change to create an environment where women can thrive, lead, and drive impactful change in healthcare systems worldwide.
In honor of International Women’s Day, I’d love to recognize the incredibly amazing and inspirational women at the CPA who are committed to advancing CPA’s mission of strengthening health systems, expanding access to pharmacy services, and improving the quality of care worldwide. With particular thanks to some of the incredible women who fill leadership roles at CPA, including:
- My predecessor, Mary Anne Ciappara, Immediate Past President
- Victoria Rutter, Chief Executive Officer
- Maxencia Nabiryo, Head of Programmes
- Beth Ward, Strategic Lead for Workforce Capability Building
- Freya Liiv, Finance and Business Manager
- Helena Rosado, MERL Lead
- Linda Tyler, Finance & Administrator Officer
- Zora Colorado, CPD Programme Manager & Membership Secretary
- Chiko Savieli, Programme Leader for Workforce & Capacity Building
- Tara Van der Vliet, AMS Technical Officer & Year of Youth Programme Manager
- Esther Obiri-Yeboah, CwPAMS Programme Manager
- Nikki D’Arcy, Senior Technical Project Manager
- Bridget Kebirungi, SPARC Programme Manager
- Kelly Alexander, AMR Technical Lead (SPARC)
- Claire Brandish, AMR Technical Lead (CwPAMS)
Download the President's message as a graphic
