Professor Vincent Idemyor, a distinguished Nigerian pharmacist, researcher, and global health advocate from the University of Port Harcourt, has been selected to deliver a landmark lecture at the American Society of Health-System Pharmacists (ASHP) Midyear Clinical Meeting in Las Vegas, Nevada, USA, on 8 December 2025.
According to a statement released by the University of Port Harcourt, Idemyor, who is widely acclaimed for his scholarship in clinical pharmacy, global health systems, and pharmaceutical policy, will join the ranks of international thought leaders shaping the future of healthcare delivery in a warming world. The ASHP Midyear Meeting, attended by more than 20,000 pharmacists and clinicians from across the globe, is one of the largest annual gatherings devoted to advancing pharmacy practice and patient care.
His lecture, titled “Triple Helix Synergy: Implementing Pharmacy’s Response to Climate Health Challenges,” will examine how closer collaboration between academia, industry, and government – the Triple Helix model – can strengthen healthcare resilience against the growing impacts of climate change.
According to the University’s statement, the seasoned scholar will use the platform to highlight that the healthcare sector itself contributes significantly to global emissions, with the U.S. system responsible for approximately 217 million tonnes of carbon each year – of which hospitals account for nearly 80 million tonnes, or more than three per cent of total national emissions.
He will note that between 2019 and 2024, over 62 per cent of U.S. pharmaceutical manufacturing sites were located in climate-vulnerable regions. The nationwide intravenous fluid shortages following Hurricane Helene, he will argue, exemplify how extreme weather can disrupt drug production, supply chains, and patient care.
“The unequal burden of climate-related health impacts cannot be ignored,” Idemyor will emphasise. “Older adults, children, pregnant women, low-income and minority populations, outdoor workers, and persons with disabilities all face heightened risks during and after extreme weather events. No single institution -whether government, industry, or academia – can shoulder this challenge alone. The Triple Helix model is our operational blueprint for survival.”
A critical aspect of his lecture will explore how climate change influences pharmaceutical care and medication safety. Professor Idemyor will outline how drugs such as diuretics, beta-blockers, antipsychotics, anticholinergics, and antidepressants can affect body temperature regulation during heatwaves, calling for climate-informed medication management, storage, and clinical protocols.
The release also noted that he will propose a coordinated response built on the Triple Helix framework: government should relocate high-risk manufacturing sites and enforce supply chain transparency; industry must diversify production geography and maintain critical stockpiles; and academia should lead in modelling climate risks, researching adaptive care, and training healthcare professionals in resilience strategies.
Idemyor’s address will conclude with a call for transformative change, urging healthcare systems worldwide to invest in climate-resilient infrastructure, telehealth expansion, and decarbonised operations. “Resilience cannot be achieved through minor adjustments,” he states. “We must design systems for the realities of 2050, not rely on frameworks built for 1950.”
According to the statement, by integrating climate-health principles into pharmacy education and encouraging stronger cross-sector partnerships, Idemyor believes the Triple Helix model offers the most practical and sustainable path to safeguarding public health in an era of accelerating climate disruption.
