27/02/2026
On February 26, IFPA had the privilege to attend “More Than Just Skin” at the European Parliament — a historic high-level discussion on skin diseases.
Following the 2025 WHA Resolution recognizing skin diseases as a global health priority, this event brought together policymakers, clinicians, and patient advocates to discuss how skin health must be integrated into Europe’s broader health agenda.
Moderated by Eva Kopacz, Vice-President of the European Parliament, Elzbieta Lukacijewska, MEP, and Dr. Branka Marinovic (EADV), the session emphasized that skin diseases are not just medical issues — they affect dignity, mental health, productivity, and social inclusion.
A powerful testimony came from Dirk Provez, who shared his personal journey of living with psoriasis. Dirk described chronic pain, relentless itching, and sleep deprivation, explaining how delays in accessing effective biologic therapy resulted in over a year of lost work and significant financial loss for the family. His testimony brought the human, social, and economic impact of skin diseases into sharp focus.
It was truly inspiring to see psoriasis take an important place in the European Parliament and on the European health agenda.
Dr. Claire Fuller, Chair of the International Foundation for Dermatology, highlighted the importance of gender lens looking at the impact of skin diseases, stressing that they drive social inequalities, workforce exclusion, and lost productivity — particularly for women.
Jennifer Austin, CEO of GlobalSkin, highlighted that skin diseases are consistently under-recognized and underfunded. She called for better data collection, and patient empowerment.
Other key messages included:
🔸Over 88% of people living with skin diseases experience daily shame — an unacceptable percentage.
🔸Visibility of skin diseases often leads to stigma, discrimination, and social isolation, requiring urgent action.
🔸Mental health support, school-based education and prevention strategies are critical.
The discussion reiterated that skin diseases can no longer be treated as a marginal issue — implementation of the WHA resolution is now the priority.
We will closely follow the outcomes and the next steps of the discussion for the global psoriasis community.