Today (Monday 25 September) marks World Lung Day, the international awareness day to help educate and promote lung health.
The Forum of International Respiratory Societies (FIRS) calls for equitable access to prevention and treatment, and to "Leave No One Behind".
FIRS is calling on governments and healthcare providers worldwide to give equitable access to preventive services and treatments for respiratory conditions, and lifesaving pneumonia vaccines for children.
FIRS identified three key target areas to tackle inequalities in the fight against respiratory disease:
Five respiratory diseases are the most common causes of illness and death worldwide:
Breathing in wood dust can cause irreversible lung disease. The Health and Safety Executive (HSE) inspectors continue to visit woodworking businesses across Great Britain as part of their targeted inspections programme, checking that dutyholders know the established health risks and have effective controls in place to keep workers safe and protect their respiratory health.
Dr David CL Lam, President of FIRS and the Asian Pacific Society of Respirology (APSR), said: "World Lung Day 2023 is one of the best opportunities to raise global awareness of lung health".
"The challenge to respiratory health, especially in LMICs, is evident. There is a clear lack of equal access to preventive measures, such as smoking cessation, and to effective inhaler therapies for managing asthma and COPD".
"The availability of inhaler therapies is far from the target of achieving 80% availability of essential medicines to combat non-communicable diseases, including asthma, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease and lung cancer. Healthcare access equity is equally crucial for respiratory infections, including tuberculosis. Through equal access to early detection, treatment can begin as soon as possible, effectively reducing the health burden of both respiratory infections and non-communicable respiratory conditions".
For more information on this subject see:
