One of the most important strategic goals of European Liver Patients’ Association is member empowerment. We are constantly searching for ways to improve the impact of our members also at national levels. In our search for unified solutions we have recognized that in European Union issues regarding health, access to treatments and organization of health systems are in jurisdiction of Member States, that each country has its own rules and processes that also produce unique way of dealing with these health issues.

Hepatic encephalopathy is a potentially life-threatening neuropsychiatric condition associated with liver disease. It remains underdiagnosed and under-treated, resulting in poor quality of life for patients and a high burden on those who care for them.

 

In an attempt to shed light on national policies on hepatitis B (HBV) virus and hepatitis C virus (HCV), ELPA has taken action and launched The 2016 Hep-CORE Report - Monitoring the implementation of hepatitis B and C policy recommendations in Europe.

Liver cirrhosis represents the end-stage of a chronic disorder which results in severe and permanent damage of a vital organ. In recent years, liver cirrhosis was one of the leading causes of death in adults worldwide, both in males and females. The number of deaths due to cirrhosis in Europe has been estimated to be around 170,000 annually, with varying mortality rates in different European countries.

ELPA is proud to support and collaborate with partners within GALAXY's project Advisory Board (gut-and-liver axis in alcoholic liver fibrosis), the project that will investigate the precursor of alcoholic liver cirrhosis, i.e. alcoholic liver fibrosis to enable early detection and treatment. This will ultimately result in a reduction of mortality, morbidity, healthcare costs and lost productivity.

Back in 2015, ELPA created ELPA University, a year-long capacity building programme on liver health and advocacy which combines both theoretical learning and skills based trainings. The course, designed in 3 – 4 modules, has been developed to enable ELPA members to confidently advocate for improved liver health services and care within their countries. During the 2016 we have continued with the good practice and organized new school year for 28 patient groups’ representatives from 16 organisations, covering 13 countries.