WBCPC joins WHO consultation on people living with NCDs and mental health conditions

Lydia Makaroff, World Bladder Cancer Patient Coalition (WBCPC) President, represented the organisation at the World Health Organization’s Informal consultation with people living with non-communicable diseases (PLWNCDs) and mental health conditions (MHCs) to highlight the importance of including people with lived experiences in co-designing policies, programs, and principles.

The consultation supports the co-creation of the engagement framework and explored the importance of how meaningful engagement of PLWNCDs and MHCs is and can be further implemented at a regional and national level. Discussions during this Europe Regional Consultation built on the recent WHO Informal Consultation on PLWNCDs, attended by WBCPC in 2020.

The objectives of the WHO Informal Consultation with PLWNCDs were to explore:

• Regional and country-level insights, experiences, approaches and nuances in implementing meaningful engagement of PLWNCDs and MHCs and other NCD related areas

• Existing barriers and implementation gaps in meaningfully engaging PLWNCDs and MHCs, including but not limited to resource capabilities in existing health and social care systems and capacity-building needs

• Possible strategies to address implementation gaps in regional or national capacities

• Opportunities for co-development and implementation of the framework and further contextualization of framework and derivative products

The World Bladder Cancer Patient Coalition will continue to engage with the WHO within the scope of this and other projects with an objective to improve the lives of people affected by bladder cancer across the world.