BRUSSELS--(BUSINESS WIRE)--In an effort to bring an innovative approach to health services across Europe – while also shining a critical spotlight on chronic disease management – AIDS Healthcare Foundation (AHF) Europe will co-host a Better Health & Wellbeing seminar at the European Parliament in Brussels on November 5, 2019.
The start of a new legislative term for European institutions offers an opportune time to revitalize momentum among EU policymakers around the question of a people-centered approach to health care as a way to better serve the European public. AHF’s experience as the largest provider of HIV/AIDS medical care worldwide puts it in a position to offer valuable insights on the future of chronic disease management in Europe and solicit input from European experts.
“Being a patient-centered organization is one of AHF’s core values, which has stood the test of time from the moment we opened our doors in 1987 to care for people who were dying of AIDS in Los Angeles, until today, when we have 1.3 million clients in care throughout 43 countries,” said Terri Ford, AHF Chief of Global Advocacy and Policy. “Many things have changed, but the idea that people seek out health services, stay in care more consistently, and ultimately have better long-term outcomes if they have an opportunity to meaningfully engage with their health care system in a way that meets their needs, is as self-evident as it is deeply profound.”
AHF’s idea to co-organise a seminar around people-centered health care has been endorsed by several Members of the European Parliament (MEPs) across the main political groups and some national representatives. One of them, Member of the National Parliament of Lithuania, Dovilė Šakalienė said, “Ensuring the most vulnerable citizens' rights is a litmus test of the welfare state. I very much hope that Lithuanian health care policy will more efficiently respond to the need of helping the vulnerable HIV/AIDS patients.”
Seminar co-hosts will include MEP Juozas Olekas (Lithuania), MEP Cristian-Silviu Buşoi (Romania), MEP Yana Toom (Estonia) and MEP Lidia Pereira (Portugal). The various seminar speakers will provide their own national or international perspectives and valuable insights on why this topic is relevant to an inclusive health care approach in Europe by referring to concrete proposals on how to achieve this end goal. A call for specific policy actions towards the newly installed European Commissioner will be presented throughout the seminar.
With final preparations underway for the seminar, MEP Pereira commented on her expectations of the event by saying, “The multisectoral approach, the patient-centered care and the social inclusion are pillars of more efficient and more sustainable European health services. We have to face the future and take advantage of scientific innovation, stakeholder input and the results of a good practices sharing logic.”
To view more details about the Better Health & Wellbeing seminar at the European Parliament in Brussels on November 5, 2019, including the program and registration form, please visit https://ahfbetterhealth-eu.org/.
For more information, please contact Ged Kenslea at gedk@aidshealth.org or (323) 791-5526
About AIDS Healthcare Foundation (AHF)
AIDS Healthcare Foundation (AHF), the largest global AIDS organization, currently provides medical care and/or services to over 1.3 million people in 43 countries worldwide in the US, Africa, Latin America/Caribbean, the Asia/Pacific Region and Eastern Europe. To learn more about AHF, please visit our website: www.aidshealth.org, find us on Facebook: www.facebook.com/aidshealth and follow us on Twitter: @aidshealthcare and Instagram: @aidshealthcare.
