21/05/2026
We are incredibly proud to share that Rasika, a young patient advocate from Lung Connect India Foundation, spoke at the World Health Assembly on the important theme of integrating lived experience into national policy.
In her keynote, Rasika highlighted the realities patients face across the care pathway — from stigma and challenges in navigating healthcare systems to the lack of meaningful inclusion of patient voices in policy and research discussions. As a young non-smoker diagnosed with lung cancer, her perspective brought attention to the urgent need to recognise lived experience not just as a story, but as expertise.
A key takeaway from the discussions was the importance of moving beyond symbolic patient representation towards true structural inclusion, where patients actively help shape healthcare policies, research priorities, and accountability systems.
We are encouraged to see important conversations and collaborations already beginning with global stakeholders to strengthen meaningful patient engagement ahead of future discussions.
At LCIF, we strongly believe that patient voices must remain at the center of healthcare decision-making. We congratulate Rasika for representing the patient community with such strength, clarity, and compassion on a global platform.
