Talking About Eczema Across Europe on Peauwerful

I was delighted to join the Peauwerful podcast as a guest, representing the Malta Eczema Society. In Episode #04, a special episode in English, I sat down with host Fanny and Jihane from AllergieNet in Belgium. The episode was produced in collaboration with GAAPP, the Global Allergy and Airways Patient Platform.

Together, we offered a patient advocate’s perspective on eczema (atopic dermatitis) in Europe.

What we discussed
Access to care and treatment: how patients get care, and how that differs depending on where they live
Inequalities between countries: the gaps in care and treatment across Europe
The cost of daily care: the financial burden of managing eczema day to day
Quality of life: the impact of eczema, which goes far beyond the skin
We also spoke about the role of patient associations, the power of peer support, and why it matters to raise awareness of what people with eczema and their families live with.

Listen to the episode: Peauwerful, Episode #04 on Spotify

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Helping you since 2001

The Malta Eczema Society was set up in 2001 to help those with eczema and their families. The need for such a group in Malta, as found in other countries, had been felt for a long time. The society aims to help by providing support, information and practical advice via public talks and other activities and to increase awareness about eczema and the problems it may cause.

The Malta Eczema Society has also repeatedly lobbied the Maltese Health Authorities regarding entitlement for free medication for eczema sufferers. Until recently, patients with eczema, unlike those with other chronic conditions, were not eligible for any free medication for their condition no matter how severe and chronic it was because eczema was not included in the Schedule V list of chronic diseases. This was very unfair and discriminatory.

We are pleased to note that in 2021 the Schedule V list was amended to include patients with severe chronic forms of eczema. This was a big step in the right direction. However it is disappointing that new effective medications for severe eczema such as dupilumab and JAK inhibitors, which have been used in other countries for several years, are still not available in Malta. It is hoped that these will now become available here too. The MES will continue to insist that available funds should be utilised according to patients’ needs and that patients should not be discriminated according to which chronic disease they are unlucky enough to have. Eczema sufferers pay taxes like everyone else and should be given the assistance they deserve like other patients.

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