To: Professor Claire Anderson: President, Royal Pharmaceutical Society
Mr Mark Koziol: Chairman, Pharmacist Defence Association

Subject: Petition to the Royal Pharmaceutical Society and Pharmacist Defence Association – Urgent Call to Action on the Gaza Crisis

Dear Prof Anderson and Mr Koziol,

We write to you as UK Pharmacy professionals deeply concerned by the ongoing humanitarian catastrophe in Gaza.

As a profession rooted in safeguarding health and ensuring equitable access to essential medicines, we cannot remain silent in the face of what international organisations have described as a complete healthcare system collapse and deliberate obstruction of medical aid (Amnesty, 2024; WHO, 2025).

Over the past decade, Pharmacy in the UK has grown into a visible, vital part of our national health service. Yet our colleagues in Gaza are being denied the basic right to practice safely and serve their communities. According to the General Pharmaceutical Council (GPhC, 2025), there are 65,794 registered pharmacists and 27,060 pharmacy technicians in the UK. As of June 2025, over 55,000 Palestinians have been killed in Gaza (Al Jazeera, 2025), a number equivalent to more than half of the UK’s entire Pharmacy workforce.

Since October 2023, more than 1,000 healthcare workers have been killed (United Nations, 2025), with credible reports of deliberate targeting and detention of medical staff (UN Human Rights Office, 2024). International Humanitarian Law states medical facilities, personnel, transport, and patients are protected under the Geneva Conventions (ICRC, 2025). These protections are not being upheld.

Currently there are only 16, partially, functioning hospitals (British Red Cross, 2025) left which are operating under extreme shortages of power, water, medicines, and essential equipment. Gaza’s only specialist cancer hospital, which previously treated up to 30,000 patients annually, has been forced to shut down due to sustained attacks (Medical Aid for Palestinians, 2025) and more than 12,000 patients require urgent evacuation for treatment they can no longer receive in Gaza (UN, 2025).

Over 75% of Gaza’s population has been displaced (British Red Cross, 2025), often to overcrowded areas lacking sanitation and healthcare access. We are particularly alarmed by the breakdown in chronic disease care. Patients with diabetes, epilepsy and other conditions are going without treatment, resulting in avoidable deaths and long-term complications.

The absence of access to basic pharmaceuticals, sterile supplies, and clean water makes effective treatment of common illnesses impossible, turning otherwise manageable conditions into fatal threats. In 2024 the World Health Organisation reported more than 96,000 cases of lice and scabies, 60,000 cases of skin disease, and over half a million cases of acute diarrhoea (Al Jazeera, 2024).

The collapse of the healthcare system, including essential pharmaceutical services such as the maintenance of cold chain infrastructure and the reliable supply of medications for both acute and chronic conditions, has contributed to preventable suffering on an enormous scale.

In light of this, we respectfully call on the Royal Pharmaceutical Society (RPS) and Pharmacists's Defence Association (PDA) to:

• Publicly and unequivocally condemn the targeting of healthcare infrastructure, the use of siege and starvation, and call for an immediate and lasting ceasefire.
• Publicly support and align with United Nations Security Council Resolution 2728, adopted in March 2024, which calls for an immediate and permanent ceasefire, unimpeded humanitarian access, and the protection of civilians and healthcare personnel.
• Advocate collaboratively with other professional bodies for the restoration of pharmaceutical and healthcare systems in Gaza and other conflict-affected areas.
• Support legal accountability for those responsible for obstructing access to essential medicines, targeting ambulances, hospitals, pharmacies, and humanitarian personnel.
• Provide a platform for pharmacists to advocate, educate, and take action in response to global health crises, and offer ethical guidance for those contributing to humanitarian responses.

The RPS and PDA represent a profession founded on ethical, evidence-based, and patient-centred care. We urge you to uphold those values in this moment of crisis. Pharmacy professionals across the UK are looking to our institutions for leadership that reflects the seriousness of the moment and the responsibilities we all share.

Sincerely,

The Undersigned UK Pharmacy Professionals 

 June 2025