World Psoriasis Day is on Oct. 29, 2017. The International Federation of Psoriasis Associations (IFPA) and its members in more than 50 countries are organizing online and offline events in support of the World Psoriasis Day under this year’s theme “Psoriasis Inside Out.”
World Psoriasis Day focuses on awareness and it is a global campaign that gathers individuals, patient organizations, healthcare professionals, and other stakeholders to take action on behalf of people with psoriasis and psoriatic arthritis; action that can drive change and bring positive developments to the lives of 125 million people worldwide.
In 2004, several psoriasis patient associations got together, created a Steering Committee and made World Psoriasis Day a reality. Today, World Psoriasis Day is observed in over 80 countries worldwide.
“World Psoriasis Day (WPD) is a truly global campaign that aims to raise awareness of psoriasis and the many millions who live with this disease,” stated Josef de Guzman, chairman of the World Psoriasis Day Steering Committee, in a press release. “Throughout IFPA’s longstanding work, we have observed the different realities of people with psoriasis in different countries—lowered quality of life, expensive treatments, exclusion, and discrimination. WPD was born to shift the focus on celebrating the strength of people with psoriasis and to better inform the communities of the disease and the people’s needs.”
More than 50 patient organizations from four corners of the world, as well as healthcare organizations, institutions, grassroot organizations, and businesses will join IFPA to show the many sides of psoriasis, such as everyday life with psoriasis, and listen to personal experiences from people affected by psoriasis either as patients, family members, friends, or colleagues.
Psoriasis Inside Out highlights looking at psoriasis non-communicable disease comorbidities and shifts the focus from the physical burden only, to the psychosocial impairments—how psoriasis affects relations, community belonging, and everyday life. Not only people living with psoriasis, but also their family members and friends are affected by this disease. IFPA and its member associations have launched a social media campaign, #WPD17, and millions of people were engaged in this campaign and more than 1,000,000 people watched the campaign video involving psoriasis patients from a number of countries.
To read more about World Psoriasis Day visit www.worldpsoriasisday.com.