Resolution on Psoriasis

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 an official 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.