PROCLAMATION NO. 1435

: Proclamation No. 1435 declares the first week of February of every year as Lupus Advocacy Week in the Philippines.
: The main purpose is to develop, promote, and support a robust and dynamic national lupus registry project and to raise awareness about lupus, its prevention, treatment, and the socio-economic impacts associated with the disease.
: The Rheumatology Educational Trust Foundation, Inc. (RETFI), motivated by "Friends of Lupus," set up the LUISA (LUpus InSpired Advocacy) Project, which inspired the declaration.
: Lupus is an autoimmune disease that can affect multiple organ systems, becoming a chronic, complicated, and disabling disease.
: About 75% of lupus patients may have abnormalities in the structure and function of vital organs such as the heart, lungs, kidney, and brain.
: Lupus most commonly affects women aged 15 to 45 during their childbearing years, with women being affected ten times more often than men in the same age group.
: People with lupus have higher rates of hospitalization and inability to work compared to the general population, causing personal, family, and community economic losses and a significant loss of productivity.
: It encourages the dynamic pursuit of different strategies for prevention, treatment, and chronic care of individuals with lupus and related disorders to contain the disease and its economic burden.