News from South America and Mexico
From Regional Patient Advocate Fernanda De Oliveira Martins
Over the past months, my work with HAEi has focused on strengthening the capacity, connectivity, and operational effectiveness of Member Organizations (MOs) across South America and Mexico, with particular attention to countries that face structural or resource-related challenges.
A key area of contribution has been operational and communication support for MOs. I have been supporting MO leaders across the region with clear instructions on HAEi event registrations and guidance on visa letter requests, helping reduce administrative barriers and uncertainty, particularly for leaders with limited prior experience in international processes.
Supporting MOs with resource uptake and development is a key action area:
- I worked with MOs in Argentina, Bolivia, and Colombia to create an essential awareness tool, the Emergency Department poster.
- Supporting MOs in Chile and Colombia, I helped ensure they could effectively access and use the HAEi Focal Point platform, strengthening their ability to engage with global resources, tools, and reporting mechanisms.
- Working with Paraguay and Venezuela, HAEi supported the creation of their HAEi-hosted Web2Go sites (Paraguay: haeparaguay.haei.org and Venezuela: haevenezuela.haei.org) to significantly improve the online presence of these organizations.
Throughout this period, I maintained close and proactive engagement with MO leaders:
- Through conversations with many MOs to discuss organizational challenges and internal management needs, offering practical guidance and reinforcing leadership confidence.
- In parallel, we have simplified tracking Member Organizations’ Impact Growth Summit (MOGIS) plans developed by MOs in previous years to make them more intuitive. Following up with countries individually contributed to more consistent reporting and greater ownership of planning processes.
- Regularly sharing resources with MO leaders, including webinars, research initiatives, and patient-focused educational materials such as the Spanish edition of the Brady Club Activity Book.
My role has also included facilitating connections and collaboration among stakeholders; connecting physicians in the region to exchange HAE care experiences and helping link patients directly with MO leaders to ensure access to support and information. In addition, I participated in virtual meetings with pharmaceutical patient advocacy representatives in my region.
Collectively, these actions have helped our regional network go from strength to strength.