10 October 2024
At the opening ceremony of #INHSU2024 in Athens, Dr. Philip Bruggmann, from the Arud Centre for Addiction Medicine in Switzerland and co-founder of INHSU, was welcomed to the stage for the first-ever Philip Bruggmann Lecture Award. In his heartfelt speech, he reflected on the early days of INHSU, sharing the organisation’s journey and unveiling the new award, which will celebrate innovation and leadership within the network.
Dr. Buggmann reminisced about the challenging start of advocating for the treatment of people who inject drugs, which was met with scepticism and even outright hostility. “The guidelines said no, you should not treat people who use drugs. Starting research into it, I felt lonely in my country,” he said.
However, through his determination and the support of like-minded colleagues, in 2009, a small meeting in Zurich transformed into a symposium with over 180 attendees from 30 countries, which then led to the formation of INHSU as an organisation. It was a pivotal moment that eventually influenced many changes, including the removal of restrictions preventing the treatment of people who use drugs living with HCV from EASL guidelines in 2015.
Dr. Bruggmann encouraged the audience to take action when they saw a need. “Start the project if you see a need. There will always be doubters—don’t listen. It doesn’t need to be perfect,” he said.
