Dear Dražen, Welcome to the final issue of the IAPO 2019 newsletter. Thank you to everyone who took part in making 2019 an excellent year for all of us at IAPO. Some of our highlights include; the establishment of the first ever World Patient Safety Day in May and its marking in September, the IAPO governance framework reviewin June, our first ever Regional Asia Pacific Patients Congress in November where we had 150 delegates present focusing on harmonisation of UHC in the region and of course Patient Solidarity Day 2019. It has been a year of great global collaboration and progress in promoting our vision of patient-centred healthcare. We look forward to working with you all in 2020 and especially as we plan the Global Patients' Congress scheduled for April 16 -18, 2020 at the Surgeon's Quarter, Edinburgh, Scotland! Happy reading and best wishes for a wonderful holiday season and a very happy new year. WPSD event at IAPO office in London  PSD2019: patient advocates call for accountability on promises made Patient Solidarity Day (PSD) 2019 has come and gone and we thank and congratulate everyone who joined the campaign and helped spread the word on accelerating progress for safe patient-centred Universal Health Coverage (UHC). Different from previous years, our goal for PSD2019 was to build on the momentum created through the recently marked World Patient Safety Day campaign which was a global commitment by all WHO member states to recognise patient safety as a key health priority and a promise to take action to reduce patient harm in health care settings.  To that end, the PSD2019 campaign drew attention to the need for increased accountability on political commitments made to ensure a safe UHC for all. Patients advocates used the day to do two things:  -To raise awareness and remind the world of the two important commitments our leaders committed to during the 72nd World Health Assembly and at the UN High Level Meeting; to work with renewed urgency to accelerate progress towards a safe UHC for all.  -To call on world leaders to ensure their commitments translate into action Here’s a look at the activities that took place to mark the campaign. Read more Meeting IAPO new board members At the 2019 IAPO Annual General Meeting (AGM) held in Taipei,Taiwan (R.O.C) on Thursday 14th Nov 2019, two new board members were elected in line with the Memorandum and Articles of Association Article 26 Appointment and Automatic Retirement by Rotation of Trustees. We take this opportunity to congratulate both Neda Milevska and Carol Ossai on their election win and introduce them to the rest of the network. Neda Milevska-Kostova who is returning on a second term, is the Executive Director of the Centre for Regional Policy Research and Cooperation “Studiorum”, a think-tank working on health and wellbeing policies in South Eastern Europe. Read more     Carol Ossai is the Founder and Chief Executive Officer of Sickle cell and Young Stroke Survivors UK, a charity founded from her personal experience of caring for her son when he had his first stroke at the age of 6 years and many more after that.  Read more   1st Asia Pacific Patients Congress a great success  The 1st ever Asia Pacific Patients Congress was a great success! We were delighted to be able to bring so many of IAPO’s Asia-Pacific members and partners together, and especially to have the chance to start exploring meaningful patient involvement in the the achievement of Universal Health Coverage in the region. 150 delegates engaged in lively and fervent sessions around the current healthcare challenges and issues in the region and how they could co-design and co-create future interventions jointly ensuring that a patient-centric universal health coverage is achieved throughout Asia Pacific region by 2030.  Read more Save the date: 9th Global Patients Congress We are delighted to announce that the 9th Global Patients Congress (GPC2020) will be held at the Surgeon's Quarter, Edinburgh, Scotland on 16-18 April 2020.  The programme is still being finalised but it promises to offer over 40 sessions, so we know you’ll find exactly what you’re looking for — and then some. Start browsing sessions and get ready to develop new skills and elevate your advocacy and don't forget to check back soon for the final draft. Lastly, in January 2020, we will open the call for speakers and presentations for GPC2020. Start getting your ideas and materials ready in preparation for submission so that you can share your knowledge, insights and experience as a patient advocate with all of us. The topics open are as per the main draft program and an open call additional list.  We hope to see you all there! Read more Have a great holiday season break and a happy new year! Upcoming Events and Days  The 10th Asia Regulatory Conference -12 -13 February 2020 IAPO's 9th Global Patients Congress – 16 – 18 April 2020 Geneva Health Forum – 24 -26 March 2020