The core theme of the seminar was the lack of prioritisation
of women's health when it comes to investment in research
for benign, chronic diseases.
Diana Wallis MEP, who hosted the event,
was also the lead author of the 2005 Written Declaration
on Endometriosis, which attracted more signatures
than any other human health issue
in the European Parliament. Yet little action has been
carried out so far by member states with regards to
awareness, information campaigns and causal research,
which the Declaration called for.
This has lead Ms Wallis to spear-head
a campaign in the Parliament to call for investment
in research to help the estimated 14 million women with
endometriosis in Europe, and she said:
“Their
suffering is not visible
but the disease can leave lifelong scars"
WERF Trustee Professor Thomas D’Hooghe
and WERF Chief Executive Lone Hummelshoj highlighted
the eight year diagnostic delay in endometriosis, the
hit and miss treatments these women have to endure,
and the impact on their fertility and quality of life
when it is not possible to offer a cure.
Endometriosis costs society more than
Crohn's disease and Migraine - yet has much less visibility.
Said Professor D'Hooghe: "If we
as clinicians and scientists are truly to help women
get optimal treatment, significant investment is needed
into causal research, so that we can work towards prevention
of endometriosis for the next generation of women.
"Developing
treatments that actually work will preserve these women's
fertility, improve quality of life, and reduce socio-economic
costs"
Professor D'Hooghe and Ms Hummelshoj
were joined by Italian physicians Professor Elisabetta
Coccia and Professor Giorgio Vittori, who have been
working with the Italian Senate to get endometriosis
recognised as a social disease. In a statement Senator
Laura Bianconi proclaimed:
“By
taking care of women, we are safeguarding our future"
Professor D'Hooghe concluded with a
hard hitting statement:
"At a time where gender equality
appears to be a priority, women’s health and endometriosis
in particular is being neglected despite its prevalence
and impact on society. It is time we start seeing investment
into female specific benign, chronic diseases on the
same scale as for male specific benign and chronic disease.”
The
World Endometriosis Research Foundation is
the
first global charitable organisation
with a mission to foster research in endometriosis.
The Foundation is committed to raise
funding to:
With sufficient funding, the Foundation's
global reach may herald a new era of meaningful medical
research in endometriosis.
Success in this area would mean that
the next generation of women may not have to struggle
with endometriosis.
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