In conversation: where lived experience meets policy
The 2025 UN Political Declaration on Noncommunicable diseases (NCDs) and Mental Health was a landmark moment – but declarations only matter if they change what happens on the ground. This session brings a senior policymaker and patient advocates together for a candid, in-depth conversation about what it genuinely takes to embed lived experience into national health decision-making for NCDs and mental health.
Drawing on real-world examples of policy change shaped by lived experience, our speakers will explore what works, what doesn’t, and what other governments can start doing now.
The conversation will cover:
- What meaningful patient engagement looks like in practice and the turning points that convinced policymakers to make it a priority
- How to ensure people living with NCDs at the table are genuinely representative, rather than the same few voices
- Concrete examples of policy decisions that have been shaped by lived experience
- What it takes to institutionalize patient participation so it outlasts changes in government or leadership