The International Alliance of Patients’ Organizations (IAPO) had been holding its biennial in-person Latin American Patients’ Congress in the Pan-American Health Organization (PAHO) Region for some time. In late 2019 we had to suspend our in-person congresses because of the pandemic and the risks in-person events posed to our shielding patient groups. IAPO resumed engagement in the region starting with our first virtual Latin American Patients Congress held on 16th June 2022 (LAPC 2022).

IAPO is a non-State Actor in Official Relationship with the World Health Organization.  This relationship extends to the Pan American Health Organization and WHO Americas (PHAO/WHO) PAHO is 120 years old this year. The founding of the institution was a great innovation in global public health in 1902. PAHO was founded some 45 years earlier than the World Health Organization. PAHO set the benchmark in international collaboration on major public health threats to the Americas from yellow fever, malaria, smallpox, cholera, and other epidemics.

IAPO was pleased in holding our first virtual Latin American Patients Congress during the 120th anniversary of PAHO and see explore how patients can co-create and co-produce effective strategies to address large-scale public health emergencies and make PAHO become pandemic prepared by the time of the delivery of Universal Health Coverage in 2030.

The final LAPC Program was co-designed with patient organizations in the region and sectioned into three main streams. Each stream shared scientific evidence, direct experience, and insight from the perspective of the academics, patient organizations, regulators, regional State, and non-State bodies. Each stakeholder spoke on how patient co-creation and co-production helped advance Latin American health through innovation, good governance, and equity. The program offered the following 7 sessions and each featuring presentations followed by a Q&A session.

• Latin America and Genomic Medicine: Personalized and Stratified Medicine
• Latin America Humanizing Healthcare
• Medicines and Health Devices Regulation
• Health Technology Assessment and Value Based Healthcare
• Rare Diseases: Latin America and the UN Resolution on “Addressing the Challenges of Persons Living with a Rare Disease and their Families”
• Health of Indigenous Peoples in Latin America
• First Things First: Safe and Free Primary Healthcare as a Basic Human Right

The full program, speakers and themes can be found here: The LAPC 2022 Final Program. 1637 attendees from 59 countries have participated in this event, representing a wide range of stakeholders including patients and patient representatives, academicians and researchers, IAPO members, government officials, pharmaceutical industry representatives, and health professionals.