Dear HIFA colleagues,
On behalf of the HIFA Steering Group I invite you to read our press release:
'Global health advocates call on the World Health Organization to champion universal access to reliable healthcare information'
https://www.hifa.org/news/press-release-global-health-advocates-call-wor...
Please disseminate this as widely as possible to your contacts and networks. If you would like a PDF of the press release please contact me: neil@hifa.org
Here are extracts:
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Reliable healthcare information saves lives
More than 20,000 people die every day due to poor quality health care (Kruk et al 2018). Failure to access and apply reliable healthcare information is a major contributing factor – at all stages of care from the home through the health system...
In late 2023 HIFA conducted a global consultation for WHO to assess stakeholder perspectives on universal access to reliable healthcare information and how to accelerate progress. 2410 individuals from 135 countries participated, representing all six stakeholder groups in the global evidence ecosystem (generating, publishing, synthesising, packaging, finding, and applying evidence).
Respondents overwhelmingly called for WHO to explicitly champion the goal of universal access to reliable healthcare information, and for WHO and HIFA to convene stakeholders to develop a global strategy to accelerate progress...
Respondents also strongly endorsed all seven priority actions proposed by the World Medical Association Policy Statement on Healthcare Information For All (originally drafted by HIFA and the British Medical Association).
“Too many people are dying and suffering needlessly due to a failure to access and apply reliable healthcare information,” said Dr Neil Pakenham-Walsh, HIFA Coordinator and co-director of GHI-Net. “This report emphasises the need for a coherent global strategy and WHO is uniquely positioned to take the lead. HIFA stands ready to support WHO in solidarity with more than 400 HIFA supporting organisations that have already endorsed the goal of universal access. Together we can build a world where every person and every health worker will have access to the information they need to protect their own health and the health of others, and will be protected from misinformation.”
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See the key findings at a glance with this infographic: https://www.hifa.org/sites/default/files/other_publications_uploads/HIFA...
Download the full report: https://www.hifa.org/sites/default/files/other_publications_uploads/HIFA...
Register for our online event on 30 July (1h) to plan next steps Towards universal access to reliable healthcare information :
https://us02web.zoom.us/meeting/register/tZModeuprjMpE9NJNhaC62tmfqqJDDB...
Thank you to all who have contributed to this important undertaking.
Best wishes, Neil
HIFA profile: Neil Pakenham-Walsh is coordinator of HIFA (Healthcare Information For All), a global health community that brings all stakeholders together around the shared goal of universal access to reliable healthcare information. HIFA has 20,000 members in 180 countries, interacting in four languages and representing all parts of the global evidence ecosystem. HIFA is administered by Global Healthcare Information Network, a UK-based nonprofit in official relations with the World Health Organization. Email: neil@hifa.org
