At least not Down Under. Today’s post comes to us from John Seng, Founder and CEO of GLOBALHealthPR US Partner and Chair, Spectrum.
Traveling down the south coast of Australia following our GLOBALHealthPR annual meeting several weeks ago, I stopped in at a NewsPower store in Bateman’s Bay to look for a souvenir or two for family members, plus to satisfy a little curiosity about what Aussies read today.
Here in Sydney, we’ve just concluded our 2014 Annual General Meeting (AGM), the first to be hosted in Australia by our partners at VIVA! Communications. And, we could not be more excited about the outcomes! Early on, we got a heavy dose of local in-country updates from GLOBALHealthPR members, who reflected on accomplishments and challenges alike. Next, we used these responses to inform and refine our strategies moving forward. Our member agencies, from over a dozen countries, also shared the latest healthcare trends in their markets.
Most importantly, today is World Rare Disease Day and because of this we spent the greater part of the morning discussing the cold hard fact that medical research innovations alone cannot help patients with rare medical conditions. Our keynote speaker, David Kwasha, Managing Director of Alexion Pharmaceuticals, delivered a powerful message and queried why patients should be denied access to treatments for rare diseases. “Why should any human be discriminated against access to life-saving therapy simply because their disease is ultra-rare? Considering the majority of ultra-rare diseases are often the most life-threatening diseases seen in medicine, and commonly affect infants, children and young adults, we need much greater collaboration between government, industry and the general public in this exciting era in which science is unlocking breakthroughs,” said Mr Kwasha. He challenged partners to devise effective communications-driven strategies to address the dilemma of reimbursement for treatments for ultra-rare disease.
[Read more…] about GLOBALHealthPR Unites Down Under on World Rare Disease Day
Exactly four weeks from today, our health communications executives from over a dozen countries will gather in Sydney, Australia for the 14th annual GLOBALHealthPR Annual General Meeting (AGM). Chaired by Spectrum, GLOBALHealthPR is 
the largest privately-held organization dedicated exclusively to science and health communications worldwide. Our partners at VIVA! Communications will host the meeting, and we can’t wait to attend. [Read more…] about Down Under to Discuss What’s Up in Health and Science Communications
Principals of GLOBALHealthPR public relations firms gathered in Lisbon, Portugal, this week for our annual general meeting, hosted for 2013 by Guess What and one of its founders, Jorge Azevedo.
[Read more…] about GLOBALHealthPR Working Well Together. And With New Partners.
No doubt that the Spectrum team is having an amazing, enriching time in Brazil. We’ve been indulging in the local cuisine, exploring the diverse city and playfully dodging the obstacles that rainy weather brings to São Paulo. It is day two of official AGM business, and we’ve been having some really productive conversations about the Network and our vision for the future. [Read more…] about 2012 GLOBALHealthPR AGM: It’s Our Move
After a bumpy, stop-and-go cab ride from the airport and getting lost in what I’ve come to realize is one of the largest, sprawling cities (more than 8.5 times the area of Washington, D.C.), we arrived safe and sound at our hotel in the Pinheiros district of São Paulo.
[Read more…] about 2012 GLOBALHealthPR AGM: Greetings from Brazil!
