They wasted no time. One month after the announcement by the President of the Republic of a national strategy for the fight against endometriosis, the first steering committee met on Monday at the
St. Joseph’s Hospital, in the 14th arrondissement of Paris. With a whole delegation: Olivier Véran, Minister of Health, but also Frédérique Vidal, Minister of Higher Education, Research and Innovation, Élisabeth Moreno, Minister responsible for Equality between women and men, Laurent Pietraszewski, Secretary of State in charge of Pensions and Occupational Health, Adrien Taquet, in charge of Children and Sarah El Haïry, Secretary of State in charge of Youth and Commitment.
This shows whether the government takes seriously this gynecological disease which affects one in ten women. “There were still six ministries, which shows an awareness that endometriosis affects all points of our lives”, greets Piscilla Saracoo, member of the association. Endominate and who sat on this committee, which should meet once a year.
25 million euros for research over five years
After this first meeting, the strategy is therefore more precise… and above all in figures. Three priorities are emerging. Research first. “It is a pathology on which there are still many gaps, in particular concerning its origin, on the treatments, recognized the cabinet of Olivier Véran. Everyone agrees that there is still a lot of progress to be made. »
The National Institute of Health and Medical Research (Inserm) is going to set up a priority research program and equipment (PEPR) which will bring together all the best endometriosis researchers from all disciplines. But this work will go beyond this single area, in fact, baptized “women’s health, couples’ health”, they will look at endometriosis, fertility, medically assisted procreation pathways. “We are launching a research program endowed with 25 to 30 million euros [sur cinq ans] with fundamental research, clinical research, human sciences or epidemiology projects”, underlined Olivier Véran during his trip.
Sectors all over the territory
Second axis: support. One of the problems of this female disease lies in the diagnostic wandering: on average, a woman takes eight years for a word to be put on her pain. The government will set up specific territorial channels for endometriosis, in the hands of regional health agencies. “There are embryonic networks in certain cities, four sectors in Ile-de-France, a dozen active networks in the region, which cover part but rarely the entire field”, continues the entourage of Olivier Véran . The ambition is to draw up specifications quickly and allow ourselves 18 months to deploy thirty sectors. “With a budget of 4.5 million per year.
What will these networks be used for? To offer resources to inform citizens, train professionals, diagnose endometriosis, announce this diagnosis and organize personalized care for each patient accordingly. Among the places that will be able to accommodate patients, reference centers will be created to support those who suffer from the most complex cases.
Finally, the strategy wants to raise awareness among all professionals who are in contact with women to put an end to “this culture of” periods hurt, it’s normal “, summarizes the entourage of Olivier Véran.
“It’s normal that you have pain, you have your period”.
No, it’s not normal. Pain is not “a bad time to pass”, we cannot ask it to be wise.
Today, the fight is intensifying and I am launching the National Strategy for the Fight against#Endometriosis. pic.twitter.com/w6grce9rAC— Olivier Veran (@olivierveran) February 14, 2022
So that young girls know that this disease can affect them… and that they find answers and relief in these new sectors which will gradually emerge. “The challenge is to create a reflex”, summarizes the Ministry of Health. The information will therefore have to reach them via different channels: at school, at university, in sports activities, with human resources, occupational doctors… “You have to name things, describe them, look them in the face. , insists the Minister of Health. Large-scale campaigns will see the light of day in the coming weeks to make this disease known to all French people, from all walks of life and from all generations. »
An ambitious strategy, but without a timetable
In addition, training for teachers, for front-line health professionals (general practitioners, gynecologists, school nurses, etc.) will also be offered. “Endometriosis will also be entered in the health record and sought within the framework of the various compulsory consultations carried out from adolescence”, specifies the press release from the ministry.
On the side of patient associations, we welcome an important step, with some nuances. “It is difficult to visualize on a large scale what it will represent, but the strategy on endometriosis is ambitious and it is unprecedented, welcomes Priscilla Saracco, also patient-expert on endometriosis. On the other hand, we still don’t really have a timetable. But there is a desire to work with patients and patient associations. And a real enthusiasm for the diagnosis and care of adolescent girls. However, the earlier this disease is taken care of, the more it makes it possible to avoid a handicap. »