APPIS 2024: Healthcare Stakeholders Come Together to Prioritize Action for Better Patient Outcomes in Asia Pacific, Middle East, and Africa

• The 4th annual Alliance & Partnerships for Patient Innovation & Solutions (APPIS) Summit will take place on Tuesday, March 19, and Wednesday, March 20, 2024.
• Co-created by the APPIS 2024 Council and funded by Novartis, the APPIS Summit aims to facilitate sustainable partnerships to address barriers to access for patients across Asia Pacific, Middle East, and Africa.

The 4th annual Alliance & Partnerships for Patient Innovation & Solutions (APPIS) Summit will take place on Tuesday, March 19, and Wednesday, March 20, 2024. Co-created by the APPIS 2024 Council and funded by Novartis, the APPIS Summit aims to facilitate sustainable partnerships to address barriers to access for patients across Asia Pacific, Middle East, and Africa.

“Healthcare challenges in Asia Pacific, Middle East, and Africa are diverse and complex. Patients often face challenging barriers, from health misinformation to complicated and outdated health policies that result in a poorer healthcare experience,” said Rod Padua, President of Touched By Max. Inc Philippines and Strategic Advisor of APPIS 2024. “Over the last four years, the APPIS platform has brought together our healthcare ecosystem - and all those involved – to collaborate on addressing the biggest challenges for patients in our region, and we’ve already seen positive impact for patients on the ground.”

Event details: 

• Date: Tuesday, 19 March & Wednesday, 20 March, 2024
• Virtual Plenary Sessions: 15:00 – 18:00 (GMT +8) 
• Speakers: The full agenda and list of speakers can be found at: https://www.appisinitiative.com/appis-summit-2024
• Register for free here: https://appis2024.appisinitiative.com/form
• Available languages: The sessions will be broadcast in English with simultaneous translation into Arabic, Chinese, Japanese, Korean, Thai, Turkish and Vietnamese 

The Summit also sets the stage for the APPIS Innovator Program and APPISx, two initiatives that underscore APPIS’ commitment to drive action to overcome access barriers for patients. The APPIS Innovator Program aims to identify and partner with patient organizations to scale innovative patient solutions that improve access to healthcare, with registrations for this year’s submissions opening from March 20, 2024, to April 5, 2024. 

Another key component of the APPIS platform is APPISx, which consists of country-level engagements that drive actionable solutions on the ground, allowing patient organizations and healthcare stakeholders to discuss, partner, and tackle issues in a locally relevant way together. In 2024, 16 APPISx sessions will be conducted across the region, in South Korea, Australia, Turkey, Taiwan, Japan, Egypt, India, the Philippines, Vietnam, Malaysia, Thailand, South Africa, and countries in the Middle East and the Sub-Sahara Africa region, building on the momentum of the 11 APPISx sessions held last year. 

“Healthcare ecosystems are a complex network of stakeholders coming together to serve patients. Yet, every day, patients with conditions ranging from heart disease and cancer through to rare conditions like spinal muscular atrophy still face barriers when accessing the information and care they need, and this ultimately leads to poorer outcomes,” said Ruth Kuguru, Executive Director, Communications & Engagement, Novartis Asia Pacific, Middle East & Africa. “To change the story for patients everywhere, we must ensure that we work towards a collective goal of addressing these barriers. That’s why I’m proud of how the APPIS community has come together to help advance patient access to quality healthcare and improve health equity. There’s still much more that needs to be done and so I’m excited for APPIS 2024 and how we can continue to help create a positive impact for patients.”

“I invite patient advocates in the region to register to APPIS 2024. At this important Summit, patient leaders like Carmen Auste, Ireal ​Traisarnsri, Rod Padua, Joanne Yoong, and Imjai Chitapanarux will share their initiatives which we can learn from and consider for adoption in our respective settings. We will also share our learnings in the Philippines gleaned from our APPISx initiative on amplifying breast cancer awareness through effective health reporting in partnership with the Philippine Press Institute,” said Christine Fajardo, Communications & Engagement Head, Novartis Healthcare Philippines & Novartis Asia Aspiring Innovative Medicines. 

To learn more about APPIS, visit the website: appisinitiative.com.