Landmark Study Shows Critical Inequalities to Dermatological Care Worldwide

PARIS – Critical inequalities regarding access to dermatological care worldwide were revealed in a landmark study run by L’Oréal Dermatological Beauty and the International League of Dermatological Societies, or ILDS.

It canvassed 158 countries, which accounts for most of the world, and found just one in six has enough dermatologists to meet its population’s health care needs. Wealthier countries are almost nine times likelier to have adequate levels than lower-income countries.

Skin disease – there are more than 3,000 types – is among the most common health condition in the world and affects more than two billion people. It is the fourth-largest disease and one of the top-10 leading causes of disability. Due to phenomena such as aging populations and climate change, the situation is worsening. Further, skin issues go beyond skin – they are linked to mental health. But skin health is not a national government priority in 74 percent of countries.

“We believe that access to dermatology should be a right, not a privilege,” Myriam Cohen-Welgryn, president of L’Oréal Dermatological Beauty, said in an interview.

In March 2025, the L’Oréal Act for Dermatology, a 20-million-euro, five-year program, was launched to democratize skin health access. It involves knowledge, education, awareness on skin issues and scaling up existing solutions.

The new L’Oréal-ILDS “Global Access to Skin Health Observatory” study, which falls under the knowledge section of L’Oréal’s program, spans how dermatologists are distributed, as well as barriers to accessing them, training and specialist services. It which was published in JAMA Dermatology.

“There was no available global study proving the situation with science,” Cohen-Welgryn said. “And above all, understanding what the issues are so that we can drive policies and concrete effective actions – this is the foundation of our program.”

The study supports the World Health Assembly’s 2025 resolution on skin diseases as a global public health priority.

The study found that globally, there are 2.66 dermatologists per 100,000 people, versus the 5.63 per 100,000 the study estimates are needed for adequate care. That means more than 80 percent of the population are below the benchmark.

In low-income countries, dermatologist density is between 0.37 per 100,000 people, and it rises to 5.05 in high-income countries. There are no African or Southeast Asian countries reaching the benchmark today.

Disparities are immense. Both Australia and Niger have about 27 million in population, but their dermatologist count is 600 and 18, respectively. Both Japan and Ethiopia have approximately 130 million denizens, but their dermatologist count is more than 7,000 and around 200, respectively.

“There are even nine countries with zero derms,” Cohen-Welgryn said.

In disadvantaged countries, an estimated 90 percent report inadequate access across dermatological subspecialties, such as pediatric dermatology or dermatological surgery.

Forty-two percent of countries say they have poor or extremely inadequate access to dermatological care, and that can increase to about two-thirds among the most impoverished.

Within countries, there are inequalities, as well. Seventy-nine percent of dermatologists are urban-based, and that can rise to 91 percent in low-income countries. Dermatologists often work in the private sector.

“This is the first time we are turning anecdote into data we can act on,” said Dr. Esther Freeman, the study’s principal investigator, vice chair of the international foundation of dermatology and associate professor of dermatology at Harvard Medical School, in a statement Wednesday. “’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 thew 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.”

Opportunities for change exist: expanding regional dermatological training programs, upskilling frontline healthcare workers, and leveraging AI and telemedicine.

“Derm education in underserved countries is limited,” Cohen-Welgryn said. L’Oréal has been working on education programs and increasing the number of dermatologists.

Data from the new study is accessible through an interactive platform, the Skin Observatory Data Explorer, which can be tapped by health ministries, organizations and researchers, among others. The data will continue being enriched, so progress and support can be tracked.