Testimonies from IFPA Board Members on the WHA resolution on psoriasis

A decade ago, IFPA and the psoriatic disease community worked tirelessly to achieve resolution WHA67.9, that recognizes psoriasis as a serious noncommunicable disease.

Some of the current IFPA board members were involved in that work. Others welcomed the resolution as head of their national psoriatic disease organization. Everyone recognizes its importance for psoriatic disease.

Here, we collect their testimonies on the importance of the resolution for people living with psoriatic disease and their experience working to achieve it.

What does the resolution mean to you as an IFPA board member? What is its significance?

Ingvar Ingvarsson. It is a critical milestone in the global recognition of psoriasis as a serious, non-communicable disease. This resolution helps in raising global awareness about psoriasis, leading to better understanding and empathy towards those affected. For us patients with living with psoriatic disease, this recognition validated our experiences and challenges, and hopefully took a step towards reducing stigma and discrimination. One of the significant aspects is that it encouraged countries to develop national policies that address psoriasis, ensuring that it is included in healthcare agendas and NCD strategies. Hopefully it has also contributed to better healthcare infrastructure and support services. It has also promoted the allocation of resources towards the management and research of psoriatic disease.

Josef de Guzman. I've fought for years for psoriasis to be taken seriously in my country. The WHO's psoriasis resolution validates all that effort. This is a game-changer for millions affected by this condition. As an IFPA board member, I have been leveraging this momentum. We can push for more research and better care and finally dismantle the stigma. It's a new era for those with psoriasis, and I'm blessed to have been a part of it.

Helen Crawford. Having a global resolution on psoriasis is critical for regional organizations who advocate for better care and access to treatment for everyone affected by psoriatic disease. It provides a standard to which we can hold our decision makers to account. It shows that Psoriatic disease is a global health priority and therefore it MUST be a regional priority

Masanori Okuse. 2014, when the resolution was adopted at the 67^th WHA, was the first year when I attended IFPA member meeting. I was very surprised and impressed at the great work that had been done by IFPA. I, as a member of IFPA Board, am now so exciting with celebrating its 10^th anniversary. However, there are still lots of things that we have to do to make people with psoriatic disease happier. I will continue to work for those who are suffering from psoriatic disease globally, regionally and nationally.

You were an IFPA board member ten years ago. How did it feel to work towards achieving it and finally achieve it?

Kathleen L. Gallant. IFPA/Psoriasis Patients and our community of family, friends, healthcare professionals and partners, working together can achieve the impossible! I realized midway through the psoriasis resolution campaign that we couldn’t lose. Even if we failed in getting the resolution adopted by the World Health Assembly, we would not fail. United, we all came together working towards the most important action and most powerful impact we could make, which was to send the message that psoriasis is a serious immune-mediated, noncommunicable, painful and disabling that needs greater public awareness of its inflammatory nature, many physical and psychosocial impacts and shared risk factors with other, more deadly NCDs, like cardiovascular disease. It felt incredible to be a leader for the resolution and advocate for millions. And when we succeeded, and the resolution was adopted? I was there at the 67^th World Health Assembly, in the room after delivering IFPA’s statement in support of the resolution, and I was filled with so much hope! Hope that we were now on the road to a future where all people living with psoriatic disease can have an early and correct diagnosis, to have access to health care professional and effective, affordable treatments; enjoy good health and wellbeing, free from stigma and preventable disability and comorbidities. And then I left the room, called my brother in the U.S., and I cried in happiness and relief.

Josef de Guzman. A decade ago, in Geneva, on the eve of a historic decision at the World Health Assembly, I stood with the IFPA team. President Lars Ettarp and the formidable Kathleen Gallant, our head of advocacy, were by my side. My psoriasis, a constant reminder of the fight millions silently waged, marked my presence. We spoke for the unheard, warriors battling the relentless itch, the sleep-stealing pain, the self-doubt that dimmed our lives, and the sting of daily discrimination and risk with other serious co-morbidities.

Today, the WHO's recognition washes away those years of struggle. This resolution isn't just an IFPA win; it's a victory for every person living with psoriasis, a beacon of hope for a future free from stigma. We shared our truth, the world listened, and the embers of change ignited. We'll fan those embers into a guiding light for future generations.