Advocating for Action on HPV: Lessons and Legacies

On 25th January we participated in the 'Advocating for Action on HPV: Lessons and Legacies' event hosted by the European Cancer Organisation in Brussels, Belgium.

This symposium brought together organisations and individuals with direct experience of advocacy campaigns on HPV cancer elimination from a variety of countries in order to:

·       Share with each other experiences and learning about ‘what works’ in advocacy campaigns

·       Disseminate to a wider audience via a published report and other media, information about effective advocacy on HPV

·       Encourage and support advocacy, led by ECO and independent actors, in other countries

·       Contribute to the legacy of ECO’s HPV Action Now project

Attendees presented information on their HPV advocacy work from educating policymakers to parents, and empowering stakeholders ranging from the media to medical professionals in order to best utilise the tools we have available to prevent HPV cancers. David Winterflood from NOMAN provided reflections on the advocacy work of the HPV Coalition in the UK. The information and knowledge shared by participants will be published in a report in Spring 2024, in addition to informing the actions of the European HPV Action Network which works to eliminate all the cancers caused by HPV, following the recommendations included in Europe's Beating Cancer Plan.

Participants:

·       Alina Comanescu, European Cancer Organisation

·       Annamaria Parola Umberto Veronesi Foundation

·       Chris Amsinger, International Papillomavirus Society

·       Daniel Florov, ThinkYoung

·       Daniel Kelly, European Cancer Organisation

·       David Winterflood, NOMAN is an Island (representing the HPV Coalition UK)

·       Esra Urkmez, Dance with Cancer Association

·       Marina Davidashvili, European Parliamentary Forum for Sexual & Reproductive Rights

·       Marko Gangur, European Cancer Organisation

·       Matthias Schuppe, DG Sante, European Commission

·       Menia Koukougianni, Hellenic Alliance for HPV

·       Momchil Baev, European Cancer Organization

·       Nicolas Phillipou, PASYKAF

·       Peter Baker, European Cancer Organisation (representing HPV Action)