More than two billion people worldwide live with skin disease, one of the most common health conditions globally and among the top ten leading causes of disability. Yet 74% of countries report that skin health is not a national government priority. The Study, which supports implementation of the World Health Assembly's 2025 Resolution on Skin Diseases as a Global Public Health Priority, establishes an evidence-based benchmark for adequate dermatology care for the first time.
Globally, there are just 2.66 dermatologists per 100,000 people, compared with the 5.63 per 100,000 the Study estimates are needed, leaving over 80% of countries below the benchmark. The disparities are starkest between higher- and lower-income countries: density ranges from just 0.37 per 100,000 people in low-income countries to 5.05 in high-income countries. No countries in Africa or South-East Asia currently reach the benchmark.
Access to specialised services is also limited in economically disadvantaged countries, with 90% reporting inadequate access across dermatological subspecialties, including paediatric dermatology, dermatological surgery and dermatopathology.
Dr. Esther Freeman, the Study's Principal Investigator, Vice Chair of the International Foundation for Dermatology (IFD), and Associate Professor of Dermatology at Harvard Medical School said: "This is the first time we are turning anecdote into data we can act on. The Global Access to Skin Health Observatory gives us, for the first time, a truly data-driven view of what access to care looks like for the billions of people living with skin disease around the world. Where you live should not determine your access to skin health – but today, it does. Our job is to identify these gaps and work together as a global community to address them."
The inequalities are not only between countries, but within them. Globally, 79% of dermatologists are based in urban areas, rising to 91% in low-income countries, leaving rural populations underserved and creating "dermatological deserts" with severely limited access to care.
Overall, 42% of countries report poor or inadequate access to dermatological care, rising to around two-thirds among the world's lowest-income countries – and the burden of skin disease is highest precisely where access to care is lowest.
Where dermatologists are absent, care frequently falls to primary care physicians, nurses, pharmacists and community health workers. Primary care physicians often have equal or greater responsibility for diagnosing and treating skin conditions, despite many non-specialist providers receiving little or no formal dermatology training.
The findings identify concrete opportunities for change, including expanding regional training programmes, upskilling frontline healthcare workers and leveraging AI and telemedicine to bring diagnosis and specialist expertise for diverse skin tones closer to underserved patients.
Myriam Cohen-Welgryn, President of L'Oréal Dermatological Beauty, said: "As the world leader in dermocosmetics, we have both the power and the responsibility to act. L'Oréal Dermatological Beauty is committed to increasing access to skin health in the world and supporting the dermatologists and healthcare workers driving change around the world – because access to skin health should be a right, not a privilege. We are proud to support the Global Access to Skin Health Observatory through our Act For Dermatology programme."
The Study data is housed within the Skin Observatory Data Explorer, an interactive platform for ministries of health, organisations, researchers and other stakeholders to access and analyse the data. New data will be added over time to track progress. Full results are available at skinobservatory.org
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