By Martin Banks - 19th May 2011
Beating IBD does not mean only finding a cure
Marco Greco
A campaign has been launched in Brussels to raise awareness of Crohn's disease and ulcerative colitis.
Both are chronic digestive diseases usually known as inflammatory bowel disease (IBD), which is said to affect 2.2 million people in Europe and five million worldwide.
According to the European Federation of Crohn's and Ulcerative Colitis Associations (EFCCA), the Brussels-based organisation behind the campaign, poor public knowledge about the disease means that it receives "little or no attention" from EU policymakers, including the commission and parliament.
Marco Greco, chairman of EFCCA, said, "Sadly, there is not a great deal of awareness of IBD among general society."
As part of the campaign, EFCCA members from some 26 countries met in Brussels on Thursday to exchange information with senior representatives from the commission's health directorate.
They also staged a 'street performance', distributing packs of toilet roll, outside the commission's Berlaymont headquarters.
Greco said the campaign will culminate with results of an EFCCA study to be presented to parliament in the autumn.
He said that in most cases, the illness can be kept under control with medication but despite extensive research there is currently no known cause or cure for IBD.
"Beating IBD does not mean only finding a cure but to limit the effect of the disease, to erase the terrible social impact and to restore hope," said Greco.
He said research showed that over 66 per cent of people with IBD felt that it had had a negative affect on their career and opportunities for advancement.
One in three felt their IBD had prevented them pursuing intimate relationships and 22 per cent claim it has been the cause for ending an intimate relationship.
"We want to make our voice heard and say to politicians and society that we are here and that our needs must be reflected in EU policies," said Greco.
