A Message from the Executive Director

Dear Members,

The past year has been challenging in so many ways. COVID-19 has taken many lives, deprived millions from their homes, and increased domestic violence and inequity around the world. Even though health has come to the top of everyone’s mind and is receiving attention on the global agenda, we are far behind the health-related Sustainable Development Goals. People living with psoriatic disease are at risk of the effects of COVID-19, both direct and indirect. We need to unite in our efforts to mitigate the impact of the pandemic.

The existence of national patient associations is crucial in meeting these needs and I am glad for our new Accelerator program that will strengthen IFPA members and ensure global representation. I am also grateful for our new member portal, where we close the gap between knowledge and action and enable sharing of best practices.

The world needs a united and strong patient community. Our ambitious strategy that was developed this year is leading us towards a future where all people living with psoriatic disease enjoy good health and wellbeing, free from stigma and preventable disability and comorbidities. Together we can fight psoriatic disease.

Although there have been many challenges around the world, IFPA has had plenty of united achievements in 2021. The new strategy, full of action, called for an updated branding. At the same time the website was rebuilt to become a knowledge hub. We celebrated 50 years – at a distance – and we had our first virtual IFPA Conference (World Psoriasis and Psoriatic Arthritis Conference), which received 4.49 out of 5 in satisfaction rating.

We also adopted the term psoriatic disease, to capture the full experience of living with this complex condition, its comorbidities, and all the emotional, social, and financial burdens that come with it. You can read more about the work that we did in 2021 in the report, United Achievements with members.

IFPA sends sincere thanks for an excellent year. We look forward to working with you in 2022, when we will have our general assembly and first IFPA Forum – hopefully live in Italy.

Warm regards,

Frida