L’Oréal Awards for Social Responsibility in Dermatology

The Awards aim to acknowledge and celebrate the often unseen efforts and hard work carried out by dermatologists worldwide by rewarding voluntary dermatological initiatives, coming from individuals, associations or hospitals, favoring patient support and care in order to inspire confidence and encourage social inclusion, independently from their medical treatment.

People with dermatological conditions may frequently face discrimination and feel socially excluded. Projects falling into at least one of the three main categories Prevention and Education, Improved Quality of Life and Self-Esteem, Access to Care Coverage and Surgery were accepted.

A total of 118 applications from the five main geographical areas – Africa and Arab States, Asia-Pacific, Europe, Latin America and North America – were received and evaluated by an independent Steering Committee of six worldwide renowned dermatology experts. One winner per region receives a funding to reward the initiative and to help them continue the development of the project. The five dermatologists awarded are:

• For Africa and Arab States:

Prof. Khalid Mohammed AlGhamdi from Saudi Arabia (Charity Society known as Faal to empower and support vitiligo patients in Saudi Arabia). Vitiligo is a long-term skin condition that causes pale, white patches on the skin due to a lack of melanin. This project aimed to increase awareness via TV broadcasts, schools visits and to provide psychological and social support to patients with vitiligo through training courses and different education programs.

• For Asia-Pacific:

Dr. Jeong Chan-woo from South Korea (Sharing skin love – Skin Health Promotion for Orphanage and for low-income children/youth ). This initiative was established to help children from low-income families, without parents or those living away from their parents, to receive education on how to prevent skin diseases. They also have access to high quality treatment if they are suffering from a dermatological condition.

• For Europe

Dr. Ksenia Sorokina from Russia (A healthy child means a healthy family- Targeting prevention of dermatitis and adherence to treatment ). This project consists of providing training workshops for parents and children with chronic skin diseases and developing the first ever website to allow patients living in remote areas of the Russian Federation to access a consultation with a dermatologist, as well as attend online training seminars for people presenting chronic dermatitis and to increase adherence to therapy for patients as well as their parents, within four Russian territories.

• For Latin America:

Dr. Gioconda Gaudiano from Republic of Panama (Moon Children – Providing mobile surgery clinics to Indigenous people ). This initiative provides free consultations, medical treatment and sun education via mobile surgery clinics to the 40,000 indigenous people from the Archipelago of San Blas, a region with the highest incidence of albinism in the world. Albinos can face severe skin problems, such as skin cancer, caused by UV light and sun exposure due to the lack of melanin in their skin. The mobile surgery clinics are able to travel to the Archipelago of San Blas, a community that often shuns medical treatment and avoids protective measures against skin cancer.

• For North America

Dr. Danielle Marcoux from Canada. (Camp Liberté – Summer camp for children with skin disorders). This one-week summer camp run by volunteer dermatologists and nurses enrolled children aged 7 to 12 with moderate-to-severe skin disorders, as well as their families, to bring them together for support, social interaction and to increase their confidence. All the activities aim to increase patients’ confidence and self-esteem, improve social skills, reduce stigma about their condition and improve adherence to treatment.