The India Vitiligo Association held an awareness camp at Kisan Bhawan in Faridabad, National Capital Region, on June 25, 2022, to commemorate World Vitiligo Day. IVA is a nonprofit organization that seeks to improve the lives of other vitiligo sufferers in India by lowering the stigma attached to the condition and lowering the cost and accessibility of care for all patients.

As most people and medical professionals would assume, the development of white patches on the skin is the primary symptom of vitiligo. But Dr. Samyak Dhawan, the founder of the Indian Vitiligo Association, is adamant that depression and low self-esteem are the disease's silent killers because vitiligo "doesn't kill you but kills your spirit," in his words. In order to offer free or low-cost treatment to vitiligo patients across the nation, Dr. Dhawan founded this NGO.

Renowned Ayurvedacharya, Dr. Shailender Dhawan was the primary treating physician on the panel and presented his findings on the herb Gingko Biloba that has been shown effective in re-pigmentation for Vitiligo without any side-effects. The event attracted more than 200 people and was supported by Kayakalp Global, India's leading integrated dermatology Center that offered free consultations to the patients.

Dr. Munish Paul, MD, discussed his research on Melanocyte Cell Transplant, a surgical procedure used to treat Vitiligo in patients whose disease has stopped responding to both internal and external treatments in areas that are more difficult to heal.

Dr. Samyak Dhawan concluded by discussing the goals of the NGO and the team's plans to use psycho-dermatology, a relatively new field of dermatology that studies skin conditions that are correlated with mental health. Psycho-dermatology connects the skin and the brain.

"Health comes from within, and there is no way to treat the root cause of a disease without first knowing an individual's baseline body parameters," says Dr. Dhawan. The Indian Vitiligo Association supports everyone in their individual journey to self-acceptance and healing to the extent that the event also had an experienced team from Euro C.

A skilled team from the well-known pharmaceutical company Biocon Pharmaceuticals was also present and could be seen interacting with patients who were interested in learning more about their most recent treatments for Vitiligo. The Indian Vitiligo Association is honored to have their support as Biocons Tacrolimus is the industry leader in the treatment of vitiligo.

Dr. Samyak Dhawan established the IVA to address the disease burden brought on by vitiligo in India. The NGO seeks to make treatment affordable through treatment subsidies and to lessen disease-related stigma through public education and outreach programs.