Before 2014, psoriasis was absent from the international agenda. Very few policy-makers had ever heard about the disease. The World Health Organization (WHO)’s website provided almost no info on it. Few took psoriasis seriously.

So IFPA set an ambitious target: to get the WHO Member States to adopt a resolution on psoriasis. This would be a powerful signal to states around the world to take action on psoriasis.

In May 2014, the 67th World Health Assembly officially adopted Resolution WHA 67.9.

This Resolution is the only international resolution focusing solely on psoriasis. It states that psoriasis:

• Is a chronic, painful, disfiguring and disabling non-communicable disease, without a cure;
• Has physical as well as psycho-social and socio-economic consequences;
• Is connected to psoriatic arthritis and increases the risk of various co-morbid diseases;
• Can lead to immense, needless suffering due to insufficient access to healthcare.

Because of this, the resolution is a historic milestone for the global psoriasis community.

To celebrate the 10^th anniversary of the resolution on psoriasis, IFPA will launch a series of resources and initiatives throughout this year, all focused on the impact of the resolution.

The celebration kicked-off with a side-event at the margins of the yearly World Health Assembly, taking place in Geneva at the end of May.

Since adopting the resolution, new research has deepened our understanding of psoriatic disease and its related conditions. In addition, the policy recommendations presented in the World Health Organization Global Report on Psoriasis that followed the resolution have also provided the impetus for passionate advocacy and legislative action, resulting in several countries acknowledging the unmet needs of individuals with psoriatic disease.

This event reflected on the progress made, highlighting the importance of policy recommendations to improve the lives of those affected, and presented an opportunity to discuss what policy recommendations on psoriatic disease are necessary to take the psoriatic disease agenda forward.

This side event was hosted by the International Federation of psoriasis Associations (IFPA), in association with the International Psoriasis Council (IPC) and the International League of Dermatological Societies (ILDS).

Read the side-event report here