SOS for Kids with Eczema – A message from Melanie Funk

We’ve Done This Before. Now We’re Doing It for Children. 

In 2020, Eczema Support Australia spearheaded the SOS for Eczema campaign with a simple but urgent message: severe eczema is not “just a rash”, and Australians living with it deserve equitable access to effective treatment. 

At the time, many families and individuals living with eczema felt invisible. 

Through SOS 2020, families shared their lived experience. Health professionals added their voices. Media outlets helped tell the story. Decision-makers learned about the human burden. 

That campaign contributed to an important milestone: PBS-listed targeted treatment became accessible for Australians aged 12 years and older living with severe eczema. 

More than a policy outcome, it was proof of something powerful- when a community speaks clearly and consistently, change is possible. 

What Has Changed Since 2020 

In the years since SOS 2020, the eczema community has become more connected, more informed and more confident in sharing lived experience. 

Families are no longer navigating alone. 
Parents are supporting one another. 
Health professionals are increasingly engaged in patient-centred conversations. 

Through peer support meetings, national education programs, webinars, digital resources and lived-experience storytelling initiatives such as Eczema Unfiltered, we have seen something shift: a stronger sense of shared voice. 

That matters in advocacy. 

Because meaningful policy change does not come from volume alone – it comes from credible, consistent and united community input. 

SOS for Kids with Eczema 

Despite progress, children under 12 living with severe eczema still do not have equitable access to PBS-funded  treatment. 

For these families, the burden remains significant. Severe eczema in early childhood can affect sleep, development, school participation, mental wellbeing and family life. Early intervention can make a meaningful difference, yet access remains limited. 

SOS for Kids with Eczema 2026 – Share Our Stories to Save Our Skin – builds on the lessons of 2020. 

It is measured.
It is community-led.
And it centres lived experience. 

This is not about politics. It is about fairness. 

Young Australian children deserve the same consideration that adolescents and adults have already received. 

Timely access to effective treatment in early childhood can change the trajectory of severe eczema, giving young children the opportunity to sleep, learn and thrive from the outset. This early intervention greatly improves developmental, educational and psychosocial outcomes.  

Looking Ahead 

We know from experience that policy decisions require evidence, process and time. But they also require human context. 

Our role is to ensure that the voices of families living with severe eczema are heard respectfully and clearly within that process. 

SOS for Kids with Eczema invites parents and carers to share their stories so that decision-makers understand what delayed access truly means in real life. 

We have seen before what is possible when a community comes together. 

Now, we are asking Australians to stand with children living with severe eczema – and to Share Our Stories, to ensure they are not left behind.  

To share your story please fill out the form here: SOS for Kids with Eczema