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At the annual World Psoriasis Day Supporters Training Meeting in Frankfurt, June 8, the International Federation of Psoriasis Associations (IFPA) announced that it is launching an online survey to help identify the tools needed to improve the lives of the more than 125 million people who have psoriasis.
Psoriasis is a serious, chronic, inflammatory, non-communicable disease for which there is currently no cure. According to a report from the WHO, the disease affects around 2% of the global population, with an even higher prevalence in some countries. Recently, the 67th World Health Assembly adopted a resolution on psoriasis, encouraging the WHO member states to actively engage with civil society to create awareness of psoriasis “in particular through activities held every year on 29 October”.[1]
World Psoriasis Day 2014 – “Building a better world for people with psoriasis”
Every year on October 29, IFPA and its member organisations raise awareness of psoriasis through World Psoriasis Day, a global campaign by the patients for the patients. This year’s World Psoriasis Day theme is “Building a better world for people with psoriasis” and IFPA invites all stakeholders to join the many activities that will be arranged all over the world on and around this theme.
At the annual World Psoriasis Day Supporters Training Meeting, which was held on June 8 in Frankfurt am Main, Germany, IFPA announced the launch of an online survey on the World Psoriasis Day 2014 theme.
Josef de Guzman, Chairman of the IFPA World Psoriasis Day Steering Committee comments:
“We now have a WHO resolution recognising psoriasis as a serious, noncommunicable disease. But what other tools does the global psoriasis community feel are necessary to improve their situation worldwide? That is what IFPA and our member countries wish to find out by launching this online vote, and we encourage people with psoriasis, their family members and the physicians that treat them to participate in this important survey.”
Identifying strategies for the future
The survey, which contains 17 different “tools”, aims to identify strategies and activities that IFPA, its members and other stakeholders can use to advance psoriasis education, advocacy and awareness. Respondents can choose up to five tools as well as make their own suggestion.
Preliminary results of the survey will be presented on World Psoriasis Day and the final results will be announced at the 4th World Psoriasis & Psoriatic Arthritis Conference in Stockholm July 8-11, 2015.
Link to the survey
Link to the WHO Psoriasis resolution
Reference
- 67th World Health Assembly, document A67/VR/9
