Prisca Githuka, Cancer Advocate, Founder of Pink Hearts Cancer Support Foundation, shared a post on LinkedIn:
“Who gets to shape the future of global health?
It’s a question I’ve been reflecting on since our commentary was published in the Lancet Global Health.
Cancer changed how I see health systems forever.
It taught me that there is a world of difference between designing policies for people and designing them with people. It taught me what it feels like to navigate uncertainty, advocate for yourself when you’re at your most vulnerable and discover that some of the biggest gaps in healthcare aren’t always visible in the data.
Those experiences are not just personal. They are a form of expertise.
That is why being a co-author of ‘Lived experience and global health architecture reform: from afterthought to cornerstone‘ is so meaningful to me.
In the commentary, we argue that as the World Health Organization reimagines global health governance, people with lived experience must no longer be treated as an afterthought or invited in once the important decisions have already been made. We should be recognised as equal partners in shaping the policies, systems and decisions that affect our lives.
This is not about replacing scientific, clinical or technical expertise. It is about strengthening it. The best decisions are made when professional expertise and lived experience inform one another with mutual respect.
I feel privileged to have worked alongside an extraordinary group of co-authors from across the world, each bringing both professional expertise and lived experience to this important conversation.
My hope is that this commentary encourages us to ask difficult but necessary questions about power, inclusion and accountability. If we are serious about creating equitable health systems, we also have to be serious about sharing power.
If you had the opportunity to redesign one part of our health system with people who have lived experience as equal partners from the very beginning, what would you change first? Think about it.
The commentary is attached, and I’d be grateful if you would take a few minutes to read it. If it resonates with you, please consider sharing it with your network so we can continue this important conversation.”
Title: Lived experience and global health architecture reform: from afterthought to cornerstone
Authors: Johanna Ralstona, Lavanya Vijayasinghamb, Chikhulupiliro Stanley Ng’ombec, Lucia Feito Alloncad, Prisca Githukae, Nupur Lalvanif, Ratna Devig
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