The pilot Stroke Advocacy Training Program was held in Hyderabad, India on Tuesday 25th October 2016, organised by WSO.

There are many things that individuals can do to reduce their stroke risk and maximize their recovery from stroke. Public Awareness campaigns are important in helping people with this, as well as raising awareness about the impact of stroke and the importance of a good health care system for stroke.
Good government policy also plays an important role. Governments at a national, regional or city level make decisions about healthcare resources and regulations that can make a tremendous difference in stroke prevention, assessment treatment and rehabilitation. WSO logoThe World Stroke Organization (WSO) with the support of several global stroke organizations developed the toolkit to help individuals and their institution increase community awareness about stroke and to advocate for better public policies and health systems to address stroke. This toolkit can be used to supplement some of the World Stroke Day Campaign efforts to advance the issue of stroke in different regions.

SAFE was honored that one of our own was invited to the pilot workshop related to the toolkit, having in mind that just 11 participants from around the globe have been invited to participate in this program. At this event, SAFE was represented by Jelena Misita, Stroke Awareness and Advocacy Manager.
The participation included some of the Pre-Workshop Activities such as reading through the pilot version of the Advocacy Toolkit and each participant needed to develop an advocacy plan. This toolkit is for individuals who seek to advance stroke policy, elevate the issue of stroke in his/her community and improve stroke outcomes by driving advocacy and change through governments and institutions.

Based on the feedback received from all workshop participants, there will be some changes in the pilot version and the final & full Advocacy Toolkit will be soon available on the WSO web site.