Source: endometriosisnews.com<\/p>\n
The\u00a0World Endometriosis Organisations\u00a0(WEO) was recently officially launched, with the goal of improving health outcomes for the roughly 200 million patients with\u00a0endometriosis\u00a0worldwide, as well as to address major issues affecting them.<\/p>\n
With 27\u00a0member organizations\u00a0across the world, the WEO is affiliated with the\u00a0World Endometriosis Society\u00a0(WES), which advances evidence-based standards and innovations for education, advocacy, clinical care, and investigations in\u00a0endometriosis, in collaboration with global partners. The newly established WEO encourages organizations to\u00a0join WES.<\/p>\n
WEO arose from the WES\u00a02017 World Congress on Endometriosis,\u00a0where stakeholders\u00a0decided to establish\u00a0a global network of organizations that emphasizes collaborative efforts in advocacy, education,\u00a0research, enhanced caregiver support, and better awareness and understanding of the disease that affects 1 in 10 females of reproductive age.<\/p>\n
Each year, WEO member organizations must establish and work toward goals in their respective countries. The\u00a0primary WEO goal this year\u00a0is to heighten awareness of endometriosis in young people.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhile the disease has plagued people for centuries, it has been swept under the carpet, overlooked in importance and usually given little or no priority in health sectors around the world,\u201d founding principal Deborah Bush, CEO of\u00a0Endometriosis New Zealand, said in a\u00a0press release. \u201cWorse still, the disease starts young \u2014 often from a child\u2019s first menstrual period \u2014 and it can have a debilitating effect on schooling, careers, relationships, everyday function and\u00a0fertility.\u201d<\/p>\n
Kathleen King, chairwoman of the\u00a0Endometriosis Association of Ireland,\u00a0said the WEO has the potential to make a meaningful impact.<\/p>\n
\u201cFor too long, endometriosis has been misdiagnosed and misunderstood,\u201d she said. \u201cComing together under a strong body like the WEO will allow us to educate, advocate, and represent those living with endometriosis. This partnership ensures a high standard of information being shared with all those involved in the care, research and support of endometriosis.\u201d<\/p>\n
Abeesha Toussaint, chairwoman of the\u00a0Trinidad and Tobago Endometriosis Association, called for a continued structured approach in getting more professionals involved in improving health outcomes and patients\u2019 life quality.<\/p>\n
\u201cPatients\u2019 stories seem most profound as there is increased awareness of varying signs and\u00a0symptoms\u00a0of endometriosis,\u201d she said. \u201cHowever, in this context, increased awareness does not equate with improvement in health outcomes for endometriosis patients. They still suffer at the hand of this disease \u2014 ineffective and often outdated\u00a0treatment, significantly reduced quality of life, chronic\u00a0pain, sub-fertility and\u00a0infertility, exhausted financial resources, and high absenteeism at schools and workplaces.\u201d<\/p>\n
According to Bush, the disorder causes 27% of school-age patients to miss classes on a nearly monthly basis, a figure she called \u201cscandalous.\u201d<\/p>\n
For her part, Asdis Bragadottir, treasurer of the\u00a0Endometriosis Association of Iceland, lamented the more than eight years it usually takes for patients to be\u00a0diagnosed, mostly because disease\u00a0symptoms\u00a0mimic other disorders. The delay puts patients who aren\u2019t being treated at risk of infertility, she said.<\/p>\n
\u201cSome drop out of school and others lose their job due to too many sick days. This delay is not acceptable and needs to be addressed by health officials all over the world,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n
WEO\u2019s steering committee includes members of endometriosis organizations from Ireland, Iceland, New Zealand, and Trinidad and Tobago. Its 27 member organizations are in Romania, Barbados, Hungary, Australia, France, Finland, Norway, Sweden, Belgium, the Maldives, the United States, Ghana, Kenya, the Netherlands, Nigeria, the United Kingdom, Canada, and Turkey.<\/p>\n\n\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":2394,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[389,273,1321,427,53,2043],"class_list":["post-2393","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-uncategorized","tag-endometriosis","tag-health","tag-periods","tag-symptoms","tag-treatment","tag-weo"],"yoast_head":"\n