‘It Starts and Ends with Us’ is a campaign by the European AIDS Treatment Group (EATG) that aims to shed light on the essential role that communities play in shaping stronger, more ethical and effective health research. It focuses on the experiences of the Community Advisory Panel (CAP) within the RBDCOV project, an initiative supported by EU Horizon 2020 to develop a new COVID-19 vaccine.
To share their perspectives, we produced six video interviews with CAP members and two blog articles. Together, these eight stories offer a wide-ranging view of what it means to be part of an inclusive research project.
The topics we touch upon in this campaign include youth participation in vaccine trials, the importance of representation in study design, trust and vaccine hesitancy, and the history of patient activism in public health.
With this campaign:
we call on researchers, policymakers, sponsors and public health leaders to champion meaningful community engagement at every step of clinical research. This includes recognising lived experience as expertise, supporting inclusive practices in research, and valuing people as partners in innovation.
Too often, research is designed without input from the very people it affects. This campaign challenges that approach by sharing the voices and insights of community members who were involved from the start of the study design. Through personal interviews, written reflections, and open conversations, we highlight how community knowledge can improve both the quality and the impact of scientific research.
This is a campaign about shifting mindsets. Research is not something done to communities. It must be done with them. Because real progress in public health starts and ends with the people it serves.
Access the campaign here
The RBDCOV project has received funding from the European Union’s Horizon 2020 research and innovation programme under grant agreement No 101046118
Views and opinions expressed are those of the author(s) only and do not necessarily reflect those of the European Union. Neither the European Union nor the granting authority can be held responsible for them.
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