May 19th marked World IBD Day, and to honor the occasion, The Crohn’s & Colitis Foundation of America (CCFA) and the European Federation of Crohn’s & Ulcerative Colitis Associations (EFCCA), released over 70 videos with stories of people suffering with inflammatory bowel diseases (IBD). The initiative is part of a global video campaign calling for every patient to share their story through a short video posted with the #UnitedWeStand2015 hashtag. Almost 40 countries joined the campaign and the videos can be found on YouTube. The videos are also available on the World IBD Day website (www.worldibdday.org).
“It’s wonderful to see so many countries coming together in an effort to raise awareness for these devastating diseases. Social media and the universal appeal of videos, makes this an easy way for everyone to connect and get involved no matter where they are located,” said Richard Geswell, CEO and President of CCFA.
Inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) is a group of inflammatory diseases of both the colon and the small intestine, and the more common types are Crohn’s disease and ulcerative colitis. There are 5 million people living with Crohn’s disease and ulcerative colitis throughout the world.
In addition to the video campaign, the CCFA also hosted a live Twitter chat featuring trained IBD doctors and specialists. The conversation can be found on Twitter through the #WorldIBDDayQA hashtag.
Notes About The Crohn’s & Colitis Foundation Of America
The Crohn’s & Colitis Foundation of America (CCFA) is the largest non-profit and voluntary health organization committed to finding cures to address IBD. Its mission is to help discover a cure for Crohn’s disease and ulcerative colitis, and manage to improve the quality of those living with these diseases. The disease affects both children and adults, and the CCFA fights to improve their lives though raising funds for research projects, providing educational resources for both patients and families as well as the general public and medical professionals, and to make available for those affected a wide range of services. More information can be found here: www.ccfa.org.