WORLD HEALTH ORGANIZATION
ORGANISATION MONDIALE DE LA SANTE
REGIONAL OFFICE FOR THE WESTERN PACIFIC BUREAU REGIONAL DU PACIFIQUE OCCIDENTAL
REGIONAL COMMITTEE Sixty-third session Hanoi, Viet Nam 24–28 September 2012 Agenda item 16
WPR/RC63/NGO/8 27 September 2012 ORIGINAL: ENGLISH
STATEMENT BY INTERNATIONAL ALLIANCE OF PATIENTS’ ORGANIZATIONS (IAPO) By Ms Janet Curtain
Honourable members of the Committee, distinguished delegates The International Alliance of Patients’ Organization is an alliance of patient groups that represent the interests of patients worldwide. We have over 200 members that span over 60 countries and 50 disease areas, representing an estimated 365 million patients. The Political Declaration adopted by the UN High-level Meeting on NCDs was an important milestone in the fight to prevent and control noncommunicable diseases. The Declaration is only the beginning and for momentum to be sustained, we must take coordinated action to address prevention, diagnosis, treatment, care and support globally. Such action on NCDs should be taken recognising the possibility to address ALL chronic diseases (including, for example, mental, neuromuscular, immunological and developmental disorders). This work should be supported by a robust Strategy and Action Plan on NCDs with clear indicators and targets to provide the impetus needed to flight NCDs to ensure that the recently adopted global target of a 25% reduction in premature NCD mortality by 2025 is met. Additionally, all strategies to prevent and manage NCDs must address the treatment of NCDs as well as prevention. Therefore we call on Member States to ensure the availability of affordable, high quality treatments, diagnostics and palliative care for NCDs. To guarantee success, multisectoral action on NCDs is needed. We must ensure that interventions to tackle NCDs are coherent, timely and meet the needs of the people they aim to serve. This can only be achieved when relationships between partners are equitable. Key stakeholders in this work are patients’ organizations who provide a wide range of healthcare services such as health literacy training, health promotion advice, support for managing conditions and accessing treatment. Despite this, patients’ organizations are often seen by many stakeholders as simply advocates and campaigners who can put pressure on governments and raise the profile of NCDs. This undervalues the essential work of patients’ organizations and the impact they can have in the fight against NCDs. IAPO encourages WHO and Member States to undertake a mapping exercise to understand and accurately value the work of patients’ organizations to see the impact that they can have.
WPR/RC63/NGO/8 page 2 Finally, we ask delegates to remember that as we move forward in this work, all policies, programs, and strategies must be based on the fundamental right to patient-centred healthcare as outlined in IAPO’s Declaration of Patient-Centred Healthcare. Thank you for your attention.