The International Alliance of Patient Organisations (IAPO) is a global alliance representing patients of all nationalities across all disease areas and promoting patient-centred healthcare worldwide.  Its members are patients' organizations - such as APMA - working at the local, national, regional and international levels to represent and support patients, their families and carers. IAPO has over 200 members which span over 50 countries and 50 disease areas and through its membership represents an estimated 365 million patients worldwide. IAPO is officially linked with the World Health Organisation.

Last month from  October 12-14 IAPO held a workshop in Manila, providing a unique opportunity for IAPO Board members and patients' organisations from the Western Pacific and South-East Asian regions to meet in person, share important work and collaborate with each other and other healthcare stakeholders. The meeting involved IAPO Board members from Canada, Pakistan, Poland, Ireland, Uganda and Hong Kong, along with patient (consumer) organization representatives from Australia, Hong Kong, India, Philippines, Japan, Thailand, Sri Lanka, Malaysia, New Zealand and Taiwan. Thanks to financial assistance from IAPO, APMA was able to participate in the event and was represented by Treasurer Bill Fisher.
Patient group representatives highlighted the top three challenges facing healthcare delivery in the region as being:

1. healthcare knowledge and the need for cross sector education;
2. improving access to quality healthcare services and treatments; and
3. readdressing the balance between healthcare providers and patients.

Certainly the situation for people living with persistent pain in Australia will be significantly advanced with improvements in each of the above aspects of the health systems we deal with. All representatives supported patient empowerment, open and honest communication with patients, and patient organizations working in partnership with healthcare providers as key measures required to ensure the needs of patients are addressed.

IAPO is collating the enormous amount of information, and varying perspectives arising from the workshop's group activities, which addressed the following issues:

• What difference would patient-centred healthcare make to patients I work with?
• How can we work together to help achieve our own organisation's mission?
• Patient engagement in advocacy
• How do we work together in this region? What is your role? What is IAPO role?

The official IAPO report on the workshop will be placed on the APMA shortly. The opportunity to meet and work with a wide range of representatives from other consumer health organisations in our region was very welcome. APMA has formed a close relationship with Philippines Alliance of Patient Organisations (PAPO), and looks forward to sharing information and encouraging advances in that country for people living with pain.