hepVoice Vol.11 | Page 4

Stories of the year Stories of 2016 January March The 2015 launch of the HCV Quest Global Patient Survey provided an insight into the impact viral hepatitis has on a patient’s personal and social life - key to combatting this global disease. Recognising how useful country specific data can be in national advocacy, in March this year we launched 22 country reports and the HCV Quest Toolkit. The toolkit provides fully adaptable resources to support advocacy activities and help disseminate survey findings, helping groups challenge governments to do more to fight viral hepatitis. Explore the HCV Quest Toolkit here. WHA member group FupaHep organised a demonstration outside the Ministry of Health in Santiago, Chile, calling for access to new hepatitis C medicines. The demonstration attracted lots of media attention and the group were interviewed on radio and TV channels. The day proved a success and resulted in a meeting with the Ministry of Health. Find out more here. February In February we launched Tools For Change, a webinar series aimed at educating and up skilling viewers on various aspects of advocacy and the tools needed to effectively lobby for change. Panellists from WHO, national governments and WHA member organisations shared their perspectives on how patient advocates can best engage with policy makers to effect real, on-the-ground change. Watch the webinars here. 4 hep Voice November/December 2016 April At the EASL International Liver Congress, WHA CEO Raquel Peck addressed an audience of 11,000 in the event opening ceremony. In her speech, Raquel reinforced the importance of the patient voice in efforts to tackle hepatitis and the need for a multi-stakeholder commitment to achieve elimination . Read more about EASL ILC 2016 here. hep Voice November/December 2016 5