The WPA participated in the Patient Engagement Open Forum (PEOF) 2026, held from 2–4 June 2026 in Sevilla, Spain. The Forum brought together patient advocates, patient organizations, policymakers, regulators, industry representatives, healthcare professionals, researchers, academia, and other key stakeholders for three days of dialogue, co-creation, networking, and collaboration to advance meaningful patient engagement across healthcare systems.
WPA was represented by its CEO, Hussain Jafri, who actively participated in the Forum and engaged with global leaders and partners working to strengthen the patient voice in health policy, research, innovation, access, and healthcare decision-making.
PEOF is recognized as a leading multi-stakeholder platform for shaping the future of patient engagement. Co-organized by PFMD, EUPATI, and the European Patients’ Forum, the Forum provides a unique space where diverse stakeholders work together to move patient engagement from aspiration to practical implementation and measurable impact.
This year’s Forum focused strongly on how patient engagement can be embedded more systematically into healthcare infrastructure, research, medicines development, health technology assessment, digital health, data governance, and policy processes. The agenda emphasized that patient engagement must move beyond consultation and become a core part of decision-making, implementation, evaluation, and accountability.
The 2026 programme explored several important themes, including:
• Building sustainable healthcare systems for all
• Shaping the future of healthcare through collaboration and policy alignment
• Expanding participation to reflect real-world demands
• Advancing people-centred innovation and responsible AI integration
• Strengthening community leadership in health systems
• Building long-term impact for people, systems, and society
• Reimagining innovation through patient insight
A key highlight of the Forum was the opening plenary, “Architecting the Global Standard of Patient Partnerships,” which explored how patient partnership can be institutionalized within the evolving global healthcare infrastructure. Discussions addressed major shifts shaping healthcare, including digitalization, artificial intelligence, real world evidence, new regulatory standards, and the growing need for social participation in health systems.
The Forum also featured a wide range of hands on cocreation sessions and policy discussions on issues highly relevant to WPA’s mission, including patient-centred HTA, patient experience data, responsible use of health data, trust in clinical studies, multidisciplinary teamwork, access to innovation in low resource settings, patient engagement metrics, digital health technologies, vaccine research and development, and community leadership.
Another important discussion focused on moving “from voice to value” by strengthening the infrastructure needed to translate patient engagement into sustained system wide impact. This message strongly aligns with WPA’s commitment to ensuring that patient voices are not only heard but meaningfully integrated into the policies, systems, and practices that shape people’s health and care.
The Forum concluded with a high-level policy roundtable on patient involvement at national level, including the launch of the EPF Barometer Report. The session highlighted the need for transparent, inclusive, representative, and sustainable mechanisms for patient organizations to participate in health policymaking.
An important feature of PEOF 2026 was the Made with Patients Awards Ceremony, which celebrated individuals and initiatives making a significant contribution to advancing patient engagement with integrity, creativity, and impact.
WPA’s participation in PEOF 2026 provided an important opportunity to exchange knowledge, strengthen partnerships, and contribute to global discussions on how patient engagement can become more structured, inclusive, and impactful across health systems. The Forum reinforced WPA’s belief that patients must be recognized as equal partners in shaping healthcare policies, services, research, innovation, and access.
Through its participation, WPA reaffirmed its commitment to working with partners worldwide to advance patient-centred healthcare, strengthen the patient voice, and ensure that health systems are designed not only for patients, but with patients.
