South Asian IBD Alliance (SAIA) is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization in the United States co-founded by Tina and multiple GI clinicians and patient advocates from around the world. SAIA aims to create resources, research and education for IBD patients and healthcare providers of South Asian origin to minimize disparities, dispel stigma, promote early diagnosis and improve access to treatment.
Learn more about the origins of SAIA and our goals here & meet our Board of Directors here.
IBDesis (pronounced IBD Deh-sees) is the patient advocacy arm of SAIA. We as patient advocates from South Asia and the diaspora are dedicated to uniting & empowering South Asians living with inflammatory bowel disease (Crohn’s & ulcerative colitis) around the globe.
So, why South Asians you ask? According to recent studies, the number of South Asians living with IBD around the world is rapidly growing in terms of incidence. Yet we remain mired in stigma and cultural taboos along with the Log Kya Kahenge (What Are People Going to Say?) rhetoric. As such, many of us are experiencing delays to diagnosis and treatment in addition to facing mental health challenges around coping with this largely invisible illness. SAIA/IBDesis aims to shatter this stigma and provide the support necessary for patients and caregivers to live fuller lives in spite of the debilitating intersections of culture and disease.
To check out our website, please visit https://www.southasianibd.org/. Feel free to get in touch with us over email at contact@southasianibd.org.
We are also available on social media (Facebook/Twitter/Instagram/LinkedIn): @southasianibd & @ibdesis. In addition, patients and caregivers are most welcome to join our closed and private Facebook group, which aims to provide education and support to our fellow South Asians living with IBD and other digestive conditions: https://www.facebook.com/groups/ibdesis/. We look forward to hearing from you!
For World IBD Day in 2021, we created an evergreen video in 10 different languages to educate South Asians on IBD and when to seek medical care:
00:03 – Surakhsha – English 01:04 – Tina – Hindi 02:34 – Omma – Urdu 03:39 – Madhura – Tamil 04:45 – Shan – Gujarati 05:54 – Chaitanya – Telegu 07:08 – Anonymous – Kannada 08:05 – Ruchita – Marathi 09:03 – Gaurav – Bengali 10:34 – Harman – Punjabi
Check it out!