Endometriosis Awareness Month 2023

That this House celebrates the work of Endometriosis UK in spreading awareness of the impacts of living with endometriosis; notes that endometriosis impacts over 1.5 million people in the UK, accounting for 10 to 15 per cent of reproductive women; further notes that it currently takes an average of eight years to be diagnosed, a statistic that hasn't decreased in over a decade and that the number of women in Northern Ireland waiting for a gynaecology outpatient appointment has more than doubled in seven years, with 28,511 patients waiting as of September 2021 and over 10,000 waiting for more than 52 weeks; highlights that there is no known cause for endometriosis and nearly all women surveyed stated it had affected their mental health, career, relationships and education; further highlights that this has a direct impact on women's fertility and around half of women stated the impacts of this had led to suicidal thoughts; sincerely thanks Endometriosis UK and other charities who do their best to raise awareness on this issue on a daily basis; and urges the Government to allocate ringfenced funding to NHS research to enable those suffering with endometriosis to have access to the help and treatment they deserve.