This Thursday is a special day for the participants of the campaign to raise awareness of Crohn's disease and ulcerative colitis. Members from European Federation of Crohn's and Ulcerative Colitis Associations (EFCCA), from across 26 different countries, are holding a meeting in Brussels to discuss the strategies to inform people about the diseases, as well as exchange information with senior representatives from the health directorate of the organization. A 'street performance', including the distribution of packs of toilet roll to the population is also planned.

Usually known as inflammatory bowel disease (IBD), both illnesses are chronic digestive diseases. According to figures, they affect over 2 million people in Europe and five million worldwide.

Mostly unknown, Crohn's disease is an inflammatory bowel disorder (IBD). It affects human´s bowels, and can also cause skin problems, eye disease, arthritis (rheumatoid), stomach, intestinal blockages. It can also lead to sores that can burrow any part of the intestinal tract, causing bone and liver disease, as well as increasing risk of cancer. Despite doctors and researchers´ hard work, there is still no known cause or cure for IBD. In most cases using medication can be keep the disease under control.

According to EFCCA, there is a lack of public knowledge about the disease, which means that it hasn´t received the deserved attention from EU policymakers.