DAVAO CITY – The Department of Health (DoH) and the Psoriasis Foundation of the Philippines (PFPI) joined hands to intensify the information and education campaign about the skin disorder for wider reach in the region.
Dr. Victoria P. Guillano, PFPI president, said there is a need for the public to properly understand the disease.
“We have started our advocacy way back and with our constant dialogue with the authorities we were able to get a funding for our campaign,” Guillano said.
She said the DOH and PFPI have pooled a total of PHP1 million fund for the information campaign.
Guillano said the public should be educated that psoriasis is not contagious, and that the World Health Organization classifies it as a non-communicable disease.
“We are continuously promoting the “Hug Campaign” with psoriasis patients,” Guillano added.
Worldwide, she said, there are about 125 million people with psoriasis or psoriatic arthritis. In the Philippines, there is about one or two percent Filipinos with psoriasis.
With the continuing advocacy campaign, Guillano said people now are seeking medical help.
She pointed out that people with psoriasis are at increased risk of health conditions such as heart disease, obesity, high blood pressure, and depression.
“The stigma is there, and we want the public to understand them,” she said, adding that there are several unmet needs that patients often encounter.
For instance, 93% of psoriasis sufferers want to recover from all skin lesions; 86 percent want a clear diagnosis and therapy; 69 percent want fewer out of pocket expenses; 56 percent want to feel less depressed; and 41 percent want to live a normal working life.
PFPI is actively lobbying in the House of Representatives for the adoption of House Bill 1818, a resolution urging the Philippine Health Insurance Corporation (PhilHealth) to include psoriasis in the list of diseases and ailments covered by its health care program.
“The treatment is expensive that’s why we want this covered by the government’s health care program especially the marginalized sector. Only 55 percent of those with the disease are of patient’s own account,” Guillano said.
In 2014, she said 194 countries adopted a resolution affirming that psoriasis is a severe, chronic, inflammatory, and non-communicable disease with no clear cause or cure. (Digna D. Banzon/PNA)
