Our Views Our Voices
PATIENT VOICE – EXPERTS BY EXPERIENCE
Client: NCD Alliance
In May 2018, the WSA / Just Ideas partnership facilitated a two-day course in Geneva that provided a great opportunity to learn about the lived experience of people living with non-communicable diseases (NCDs) and assist them in using their voices in their roles as advocates and campaigners.
Often referred to as long-term conditions or chronic illnesses, NCDs include cancer, cardiovascular disease, chronic respiratory diseases, diabetes and mental illness.
Our Views, Our Voices is an initiative that seeks to meaningfully involve people living with NCDs, supporting and enabling individuals to share their views to take action and drive change.
In Geneva, Wendy Sugarman and Helen Garforth got together with 21 people from 13 countries who are living with (or caring for people with) a range of conditions. We supported them through training to develop their personal stories into compelling narratives that they could share to show the impact and the needs.
In Helen’s wonderful blog post about the event, she remarked that, “Personal stories and influences came together to make the training a humbling and exciting place to be.” It’s a sentiment with which Wendy agrees wholeheartedly.
The WSA / JI partnership also took away a clear drive to strengthen the link between the global campaign around NCDs and our work with PPV partners in NHS England.