Joining the global fight against fake medicines to ensure safe medication and healthcare for all

Wednesday 7 November, 2018  |  4pm GMT   Presentations:

1. Fight the Fakes Campaign

2. Community Health and Information Network - CHAIN

 

At this exclusive event, IAPO and Fight the Fakes will explore what opportunities exist for health advocates and more specifically patient advocates in tackling falsified and substandard medical products on a global scale. 

This is in the build up to Patient Solidarity Day (PSD) 2018, whose theme ‘Safe Medication and Healthcare for All’ aims to raise awareness on patient safety, a crucial element in enabling and supporting health systems achieve sustainable and effective Universal Health Coverage.

As patient organizations, our ability to effectively influence policy-makers, regulators and other prominent stakeholders depends on the strength of our argument. We need to equip ourselves as much as possible with the knowledge, tools, and skills needed to make meaningful contribution to our advocacy agenda topics.

Therefore we encourage you to seize this opportunity to learn as much as possible about advocating for safer healthcare by attending this webinar.

  The webinar has the following learning objectives: 

• Developing knowledge about the Fight the fakes campaign, its achievements and partners involved
• Raising knowldge and awarenes of how to get involved in the fight against falsified and substandard medicines
• Training patient leaders to develop effective advocacy skills to contribute towards fighting fake medicines
• Witness personal stories from victims of falsified medicines, and learn how patients can protect themselves from falsified medicines.

  Speakers

• Christopher Goetz, Executive VP and General Manager, International Federation of Pharmaceutical Wholesalers (IFPW)

Chris serves as the Executive Vice President and General Manager of the International Federation of Pharmaceutical Wholesalers (IFPW), overseeing all of the organization’s programs, events and activities while providing strategic guidance to the Federation since 2008. He established IFPW Foundation in 2012, an organization created to pursue global health activities and objectives of the IFPW membership. He led the process to establish the Foundation’s initial strategic objectives and landscaping of existing initiatives with which it could become involved. This resulted in a 3-year partnership with Gavi, the Vaccine Alliance and support of the global Fight the Fakes campaign against falsified medicines along with developing relationships with various NGOs and donor organizations. Chris has served as IFPW Foundation’s Executive VP since its inception and continues to passionately lead the efforts to improve the reach, access and availability of essential medicines, vaccines and other health commodities. Chris hold a Finance degree and Accounting degree from Virginia Tech and lives in the Virginia suburbs of Washington D.C. with his wife Amy and 2 children.  

• Jolanta Bilińska, President and Founder, Patient Safety Foundation (IAPO Member from Poland) & Immediate-Past Chair of IAPO

Jolanta Bilińska is based in Poland and is a widely respected expert in public health, founding and running different patients’ organizations. She published almost 2000 articles concerning medical issues and politics, and is a WHO Patients for Patient Safety Champion.

• Kawaldip Sehmi, CEO,  International Alliance of Patients Organizations 

Kawaldip Sehmi is a patient who is championing for the rights of vulnerable patients globally. He has extensive experience in paediatric healthcare and children and adolescents mental health services. He previously held the position of CEO at Richmond Psychosocial Foundation International and worked as Managing Director of Coram Children’s Legal Centre. He has European and international public health experience as Director of the Global Health Inequalities Programme and as Chairman of the European Network of Quitlines during the successful negotiations and ratification of the WHO Framework convention on Tobacco Control.  Kawaldip’ s qualifications include an MSc in the Public Health International Programme from the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine, a Master’s in Business Administration and an LLB (Hons).  

• Regina Kamoga, Executive Director, Community Health and Information Network – CHAIN (IAPO Member from Uganda) 

Regina has served on numerous health advisory committees and boards at national and international level; she is a past board member of the International Alliance of Patients’ Organizations (IAPO). She spearheaded the establishment of the Uganda Alliance of Patients Organizations and is now spear heading the establishment of the Africa Patients Forum (APF). Regina advocates for patient-centred healthcare and patient safety particularly on issues of patient rights, access to medicines in low and middle income countries, substandard and counterfeit medicines and health literacy. She has made presentations at high level meetings including the World Health Assembly-IGWG to discuss ways to foster innovation, build capacity and improve access to health products to achieve better health outcomes in developing countries; EU-Africa Pharma Business to Business; Forum Social Forum 2015 Expert consultation on access to medicines as a fundamental component of the right to health; 2nd Global Ministerial Summit on Patient Safety in Bonn, 2017. She is a patient safety champion of the WHO Patients for Patient Safety programme and a member of the Technical Working Group on Supervision, Monitoring Research and Evaluation – MoH and National Quality Assurance committee.

• Sérgio Cavalheiro Filho, Research Associate, Regulatory Affairs & Global Health, International Federation of Pharmaceutical Manufacturers 

Sergio joined the International Federation of Pharmaceutical Manufacturers (IFPMA) in March 2017, with a focus on supporting IFPMA’s anti-counterfeiting portfolio by engaging with partners from the Fight the Fakes campaign. Currently, Sergio works as a Research Associate on Regulatory Science & Global Health at IFPMA. Sergio holds a MPharm in Pharmaceutical Sciences from the University of Coimbra, Portugal. Before joining IFPMA, Sergio built his professional experience working on drug formulation and delivery in the R&D department of a pharmaceutical company in Lisbon as well as in his Faculty’s Laboratory of Pharmaceutical Technology, in Coimbra.

 

How to attend the webinar

Join the webinar on 7 November at 4pm GMT by clicking here!