First Ever Global Patients Congress
IAPO Manifesto for Patient-Centred Healthcare Tops the Agenda

London, United Kingdom, 23 February 2005 -- The International Alliance of Patients' Organizations (IAPO) will gather patient advocacy leaders from around the world at the first ever Global Patients Congress to be held in London, United Kingdom from 25-27 February 2005. Leaders from over 60 associations will come together from over 21 countries to share experiences and develop strategies to improve patient involvement and patient-health professional relationships in their countries. The Congress will be a vital step to further the process to develop a global Manifesto for Patient-Centred Healthcare which will detail actions patients and policy-makers can take to ensure the reality of patient-centred healthcare around the world.

“Patient-centred healthcare is the emerging driver for healthcare systems”, stated Albert van der Zeijden, IAPO Chair. “Research over the past ten years has shown that in patient-centred systems, patients are better informed, better able to co-manage their health and healthcare, cost less to health systems and are more likely to actively engage in shaping effective health policies.

Joining the patients’ organizations at the Congress will be leaders from the European Union, the World Health Organization, industry and key international professional bodies; including the International Council of Nurses (ICN), International Pharmaceutical Federation (FIP) and World Medical Association (WMA). The outcomes and agreed actions will be announced after the Congress.

Another first at the Congress will be a meeting of twelve international patients’ organizations to work on common challenges including fundraising, governance and coordinating advocacy and campaigning work. IAPO has played a central role in developing this workshop session which will take place on Friday 25 February.

The twelve international groups represent a wide range of therapeutic areas including multiple sclerosis, osteoporosis, cancer, pemphigus (a rare skin disease), hemophilia, infertility, arthritis and rheumatism, interstitial cystitis, mental illness, Alzheimer’s disease, headache disorders and also the needs of people who care for patients. These umbrella patients’ organizations support regional and national disease-specific patients’ organizations and face common challenges but, being the umbrella organization, they have few places to turn to for help and support.

The workshop session was developed by IAPO in response to requests from international members keen to develop stronger links, so that they can learn from each other. In addition to the expertise and knowledge shared during the workshop session, participants will return to their day-to-day work knowing who they can turn to for advice and to seek expertise. Time and resources that are often used to “reinvent the wheel” when organizations develop new activities or reassess their current work can be minimized through strong knowledge networks.

On the common challenges faced by international umbrella organizations, Kary Shannon, Chief Executive of the World Headache Alliance commented, “The World Headache Alliance, like many international umbrella organisations, faces complex issues daily. The driving need to deal with these challenges in an efficient and effective manner pushed us to seek the pool of expertise and experience among our international organisational peers. IAPO’s Congress is bringing twelve of the most experienced leaders together in one venue. The relationships forged through this mentoring opportunity will result in truly significant partnerships and the basis for a great resource for the international patient movement.”