This month’s policy briefing focuses on access, which is the second “key theme” of the 2017 engagement and empowerment plan . Access and support also feature amongst the five principles of the IAPO Declaration on Patient Centred Healthcare . Every patient must have access to the healthcare services...

At the 69th World Health Assembly in Geneva in May 2016, IAPO raised the issue of access to health services by chronically ill refugees, migrants and internally displaced people. This issue will be revisited during the forthcoming World Health Assembly in Geneva, Switzerland from 22-27 May, 2017.

IAPO is proposing to hold four side-events with various partners this year to celebrate WHO’s contributions made over 70 years towards eradication and controlling diseases, and more importantly, marking the great contribution made by WHO in promoting patient-centred health care and improving evidence based medicine through research, policy development, technical assistance and diplomatic advocacy. The side-events will also trigger the start of patient engagement in the long march towards achieving patient-centred universal health coverage by all Member States by 2030.

Patient information is one of the pillars of the IAPO Declaration of patient-centred healthcare. It represents a primary vehicle for patient advocates to better engage in and contribute to healthcare more effectively. For this to happen, however, it is crucial that patients play an active role in the information process.