ELPA’s aim is to promote the interests of people with liver disease and in particular: to highlight the size of the problem; to promote awareness and prevention; to address the low profile of liver disease as compared to other areas of medicine such as heart disease; to share experience of successful initiatives; to work with professional bodies such as EASL and with the EU to ensure that treatment and care are harmonized across Europe to the highest standards.
Our organization was established by patients, is govern by patients and represents patients in Europe as defined by WHO Europe region – member’s states of European Union, UK, Egypt, Russia, Turkey, Georgia and Israel. We, the patients of liver diseases and our family members, are committed to making a difference in prevention, treatment and care for other patients. We are constantly searching for ways to improve the impact of our members at national levels. This is achieved by our cooperation and networking, teamwork and our devotion to patients. We are constantly working on improving our teamwork and our influence at the national level as a patient organization. In our search for unified solutions we have recognized that, issues regarding health, access to treatments and organization of health systems in Member States and other countries. Each country has its own rules and processes which produce unique way of dealing with liver-health issues. We see a diversity of our members as a strength and will proactively work on sharing a good practice among ELPA members, encourage networking, collaboration and support between ELPA members.
European Liver Patients’ Organization had and still has a major role in communicating and consulting to major stakeholders in the field of liver diseases. Our work in the form of scientific papers, guidelines, research has a major influence on the decisions from important stakeholders. The peaks of the policy work done in previous years have been numerous. Approval of participation in six EU Horizon 2020 projects and one project in European Institute for Innovation and Technology – section for Health, EMA membership as part of eligible association and for the period 2019 to 2022 also as part of Patient and Consumer Working Party, successful ELPA Symposium yearly at international liver conference organized by EASL and EASL collaboration on other common agreed program, several meetings in European Parliament, launch of HE white paper in the European Parliament, NASH-NAFLD meetings with European Commissioners. ELPA is working hard to increase our presents at every health debated issue in European Parliament, European Commission, EMA, ECDC, WHO Europe with the clear goal to increase the levels of financial sources for liver diseases in the European Union.
The voice of ELPA represents the voice of millions of patients, from reach and poor countries, different health systems and cultures. ELPA has an open mind and capacity of integration of new points of view.
ELPA’s vision is that all liver patients are diagnosed in time, are treated with respect, and have equal access to the best standard of medical care – regardless of origin, lifestyle, and type of liver disease.
Our ultimate goal is a world without liver diseases.