STOCKHOLM, Oct. 26, 2023 -- Every year on World Psoriasis Day, October 29th, the international psoriatic disease community unites to raise awareness and fight for progress. The theme of 2023, "Access for All," underscores the vital need for Universal Health Coverage (UHC) to ensure that everyone, regardless of their location, income, or health condition, can access essential health services. This global initiative brings the entire community together to share knowledge and insights about psoriatic disease and UHC, taking a significant step towards a healthier world.

Psoriatic disease is a painful, severe, and lifelong Noncommunicable Disease (NCD) that affects millions of individuals globally. It is also often associated with comorbidities, some of the most common being obesity, hypertension, diabetes, and cardiovascular disease – for example, people with severe psoriasis face a 46% higher risk of developing type 2 diabetes and a 58% increased likelihood of experiencing a major cardiac event.¹ It is imperative that UHC health benefit packages encompass the treatment of psoriatic disease and promote holistic and people-centered care.

Unfortunately, access to care remains fragmented and challenging. The global healthcare workforce shortage further compounds the issue, limiting the number of providers available to deliver essential care. A staggering 3 billion people worldwide lack adequate access to care for dermatological conditions², and the World Health Organization estimates that an additional 15 million health workers are needed to fulfill universal health coverage commitments.³ Regrettably, health workers with expertise in dermatological or rheumatological conditions are even scarcer.

For this World Psoriasis Day 2023, Frida Dunger Johnsson, Executive Director of IFPA, sends a powerful message from the whole organization to the world: "access to healthcare must be for all, universal, and equitable, and we are looking forward to a brighter future, committed to making this vision a reality for everyone living with the psoriatic disease". 

See Pierre from Rwanda tell his story: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mwGluozx1AU

For further information about World Psoriasis Day 2023 and how you can participate: psoriasisday.org.

About IFPA

Founded in 1971, IFPA is the international federation of psoriatic disease associations. IFPA's members represent over 60 million people living with psoriatic disease worldwide. More information about IFPA is available at https://ifpa-pso.com.

1.  NCD Alliance. "Addressing NCDs: Psoriasis and its Co-morbidities."2017. https://ncdalliance.org/resources/addressing-ncds-psoriasis-and-its-co-morbidities.

2.  9 Coustasse A. et al. "Use of teledermatology to improve dermatological access in rural areas." https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/30741608/

3.  World Health Organization. "Global Strategy on Human Resources for Health: Workforce 2030: Reporting at Seventy-fifth World Health Assembly." 2022. https://www.who.int/news/item/02-06-2022-globalstrategy-on-human-resources-for-health--workforce-2030.

Contact: Annika Sjöberg, annika.sjoberg@ifpa-pso.com, +46 (0) 70 749 58 20

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