Medicines for All, All for Medicines

UAEM's initiatives in the 2023/24 Winter Semester have showcased diverse successes, aimed at fostering a new wave of advocates and raising awareness around access challenges.

The semester kicked off following our annual European Leadership Meeting in Berlin, which brought together national coordinators and European coordinators to plan activities for the 2023/24 academic year. UAEM students prioritised on recruitment of new access advocates, fostering cross-regional collaboration and developing strategies to push forward our policies changes through a range of different pathways. 

Over the past few months, UAEM has concentrated on extending dedicated support to its members. Initially, expanding efforts to engage newcomers virtually, UAEM Europe launched our first ever Access to Medicines Fellowship program in October. This initiative offered a five-week engagement opportunity for students interested in the field of access to medicines. Following on from this, In November, UAEM organized our Training Weekend for new participants, convening 15 students from seven countries. This event provided an in-depth exploration of access issues, fostering an understanding of their role in driving systemic change. The workshops covered various topics, including an introduction to Access to Medicines, personal and leadership motivation sessions, negotiation skills, campaigning, and teamwork. For many participants, this training camp was their first exposure to UAEM, marking the beginning of their journey as health advocates, providing them with new skills and connections. 

Simultaneously, while upskilling our new advocates on vital access skills and content, UAEM members actively worked on raising awareness and advocating for equitable access through various initiatives. Collaborative civil society efforts included dialogues with the European Patent Office (EPO) to advocate for more stringent patentability standards. Additionally, UAEM actively participated in the WHO World Local Production Forum, hosting a key panel discussion to emphasize the role of students at universities in advocating for increased access through local production. Engagements also included participation in events such as the World Health Summit and the 'Force of the Future: Co-creating Youth Action on Immunization' hosted by WHO/Europe Youth4Health.

UAEM Europe extends its heartfelt appreciation to our donors for their ongoing support, which is vital to continuing our work as an organisation. As we embark on several new projects in January to engage the next generation of access advocates, we look forward to reporting on further successes as we advance with our access and empowerment initiatives.