One of the most impactful and fulfilling jobs in the world is helping those in need; empowering patients with unmet needs can be challenging yet extremely gratifying. With the overload in the healthcare industry, a significant number of patients and diseases unfortunately don’t get the proper care and attention required. An organization like the Global Allergy and Airway Patient Platform (GAAPP) has taken the initiative to change that.
GAAPP has been making an impactful legacy since its inception in 2009. As a non-profit organization, they have led a significant change in the healthcare industry, encouraging people with airway, allergic, and atopic conditions to lead healthy lifestyles with the support of governmental and individual organizations. GAAPP has made immense progress in their mission to help those in need, leading their organization to become one of the best in 2023.
The CIO Bulletin had the opportunity to talk to Tonya Winders, President and CEO of GAAPP, about the impact the organization has had thus far.
Q. What is the Global Allergy and Airway Patient Platform? How did the company come into being?
The Global Allergy and Airway Patient Platform (GAAPP) is an umbrella organization that is based in Vienna, Austria. It was started to engage, educate, empower, and advocate for patients with airway, allergic, and atopic conditions. GAAPP’s board represents multiple regions in the world, with more than one hundred patient groups of all sizes coming together with a common purpose: elevating the patient’s voice so decision-makers in the public and private sectors of government and healthcare will be mindful of the true needs, desires, and rights of the patient community.
Since its inception in 2009, we have grown to become a vibrant global organization with over 100 member organizations from all over the world sharing information, concerns, hopes, and best practices.
Q. What is GAAPP’s vision?
How does the organization aim to achieve it? Our vision at GAAPP is to build a world where patients with allergies, airways, and atopic diseases live a better life; to break barriers and provide the best care to patients; to meet their needs and drive awareness and action to support them. We achieve this through our values of respect, responsibility, and relationships.
Similarly, our mission as a company is to support and empower patients with these diseases worldwide. We aim to do this by protecting their rights and insisting that governments, healthcare professionals, and the general public prioritize lung and immune health.
The four pillars that make up GAAPP’s goals and objectives are awareness, education, advocacy, and research. It is through these areas that we achieve our goals and monitor key performance indicators.
Q. In what ways does GAAPP protect the rights of patients with allergies, airways, and atopic diseases?
Why does the organization feel they need to be protected? GAAPP has been privileged to work with major healthcare and governmental organizations like WHO, EAACI, ERS, GINA, and more to change the lives of patients for the better while reducing the negative impact of diseases like asthma, COPD, food allergies, and eczema. We protect the rights of patients by making dynamic, beneficial changes to not just their health but also social and global policies that directly and indirectly impact access to care. We do this by exchanging information and best practices among our organization’s members while simultaneously striving to improve the overall quality of care available in the field. With our global platform, GAAPP serves as an intermediary among patient organizations, encouraging communication across the globe and enabling the amplification of local voices to escalate concerns.
As an organization, we feel it is important to reduce pollution in order to improve the quality of life for all people; therefore, we strive to demand global standards and ask communities to take specific steps to improve patients’ lifestyles. We also support and encourage the establishment of patient organizations in low- and middle-income countries, where patient empowerment is often less evident. Additionally, we conduct global events like our evidence-based scientific meeting, the Global Food Allergies Summit, and the Global Respiratory Summit annually. These worldwide initiatives help our members and community access first-hand knowledge of the highest quality, which in turn helps them provide the best support to ensure patients thrive.
Q. How has the organization grown since its inception?
We have grown to more than 100 patient advocacy organizations, representing over 70 countries on every continent and covering all WHO regions.
We have published more than 70 peer-reviewed publications in medical journals, presented at more than 100 medical conferences in the past ten years, and disseminated evidence-based resources to millions of patients worldwide.
Q. GAAPP offers numerous resources to further its cause. What is the GAAPP Academy?
GAAPP Academy is a series of capacity-building webinars on topics like fundraising, staff leadership, strategic planning, financial management, social media, etc. These webinars are delivered by industry experts and build the basic skills necessary to lead a successful patient advocacy organization.
Q. How can people become members of GAAPP, and what benefits do they receive by becoming members?
GAAPP membership is open to all patient advocacy organizations in allergy, airway, and atopic diseases. You can learn more at gaapp.org/membership.
Q. Would you like us to highlight something important happening in your company that we may have missed asking about?
GAAPP is currently working with healthcare professionals, patients, advocacy organizations, and policymakers to prioritize chronic respiratory diseases like asthma and COPD with the support of WHO. GAAPP is also a founding member of the International Respiratory Coalition, which is conducting pilot programs to accelerate policy change and increase access to life-saving medications globally. GAAPP is also the project manager of the Speak Up for COPD coalition, designed to elevate and prioritize COPD globally. COPD is the third leading cause of death, yet it is rarely funded appropriately.
Q. What are GAAPP’s plans for the future?
GAAPP plans to be the “go-to” global voice in allergy, airways, and atopic diseases. We will continue to work with patients, advocates, industry, healthcare providers, and policymakers to ensure we can get the right treatment to the right patient at the right time with the fewest barriers.
A brief biography of the CEO
Tonya Winders is the president and CEO of GAAPP. She has more than 20 years of experience in leadership roles within the allergy and asthma industries. From sales and marketing leadership to managed market access, she has worked tirelessly to ensure patients have access to effective diagnostic and treatment tools. She also served as President and CEO of the Allergy and Asthma Network for 10 years.
Tonya serves on several expert panels, including the GINA international guidelines. Furthermore, she is on the board of directors for the Alliance to Prevent Legionnaires Disease and the American Respiratory Care Foundation.
Personally, Tonya is the mother of five children, four of whom have asthma and/or allergies, ranging in age from 18 to 25 years old. She enjoys spending time with her husband, Brian Winders, and doting on her first grandchild, Brentlee.
