World Lung Day
25 September 2022

Webinar series

A FIRS/WHO webinar series: "Respiratory disease in the era of COVID – a global perspective" which will be launched on 22 September 2022, 14:00 - 15:30 CEST.

The FIRS and WHO have gathered experts from around the world to discuss the burden of respiratory diseases globally, what can be done to combat respiratory disease in the era of COVID, and how we can address unequal access to prevention schemes and treatment in lower and middle-income countries.

Join the webinar to hear case studies, lessons learned and best practices from experts in the field.

Register here bit.ly/FIRSWHO

Become a World Lung Day partner

If your society hasn't joined yet, sign up as a WLD partner by emailing fiona.salter@firsnet.org. Current partners are shown at firsnet.org/news-and-events/news-article/165-world-lung-day-2021-partners.

Please help to raise the profile of World Lung Day by sharing the WLD graphics below.

If you have plans for WLD, please let us know (APSRinfo@theapsr.org) so we can amplify the message of lung health for all.

Press release

On World Lung Day, the Forum of International Respiratory Societies (FIRS) Calls for Action to Tackle Global Inequity in Respiratory Health

World Lung Day 2022: Lung Health for All

25 September 2022

On World Lung Day, 25 September 2022, the Forum of International Respiratory Societies (FIRS), of which the Asian Pacific Society of Respirology is a founding member, calls on governments worldwide to address stark global inequalities in respiratory health.

The COVID-19 pandemic may have subsided, but its impact highlights a global lung health crisis that has not gone away.

Respiratory illnesses affect people in all countries, but disproportionally in low- and middle-income countries (LMICs) where resources for research, prevention, and management are scarce. To address such inequity, we must look beyond medical care to the social and environmental determinants of health such as tobacco use, air pollution, climate change and poverty.

Five respiratory diseases are the commonest causes of illness and death worldwide - chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD), asthma, acute respiratory tract infection or pneumonia, tuberculosis (TB) and lung cancer.

The FIRS Global Impact of Respiratory Disease report shows the immense burden of these lung diseases:

• An estimated 200 million people have COPD , of which about 3.2 million die each year, making it the third-leading cause of death worldwide.
• Asthma is one of the commonest non-communicable diseases globally affecting 262 million people.¹
• With more than 2.2 million new cases of lung cancer in 2020 and 1.80 million deaths, globally, lung cancer is responsible for 1 in 4 cancer deaths.
• Lower respiratory tract infection or pneumonia is a leading cause of mortality, accounting for more than 2.4 million deaths every year, particularly among those in LMICs. COVID-19 has dramatically increased deaths from pneumonia globally.
• In children under 5 years of age, pneumonia is the leading single cause of death outside the neonatal period.
• TB is a major burden with the World Health Organization’s annual global report finding that TB deaths have risen for the first time in more than a decade due to the COVID pandemic.²

FIRS asks that governments, health care workers and researchers focus on three key issues to help reduce respiratory health inequalities:

• The global burden of the major respiratory diseases and the impact of COVID-19;
• The importance of early detection and screening;
• Reducing inequalities in screening, diagnosis, prevention and treatment of lung conditions.

FIRS President Professor Heather Zar said:

“The theme for this World Lung Day is Lung Health for All. That’s why we are calling on governments worldwide to work together to build equitable capacity, infrastructure, and resources.

“COVID has highlighted global inequities in access to effective strategies for respiratory health. We have very effective interventions to prevent and treat respiratory diseases, but these are unavailable or unaffordable in many parts of the world. Reducing inequality requires an integrated approach which incorporates social, environmental, economic and medical initiatives. We have effective interventions – but we must use these more equitably.”

Media contact: Fiona Salter Fiona.salter@firsnet.org

Further information

The Global Impact of Respiratory Disease report outlines major causes of respiratory disease, including lung cancer, and lays out recommendations for global action.

FIRS Lung Health Fact Sheet is a quick reference guide to the impact of the ‘Big Five’ respiratory diseases.

Join us for the first Forum of International Respiratory Societies/ World Health Organization joint World Lung Day webinar - Respiratory disease in the era of COVID – a global perspective on 22 September, 14:00 - 15:30 CEST. Register here bit.ly/FIRSWHO

1. thelancet.com/pb-assets/Lancet/gbd/summaries/diseases/asthma.pdf

2. who.int/publications/i/item/9789240037021

About the Forum of International Respiratory Societies (FIRS)

"Healthy Lungs for Life" events around the world

For 2022 FIRS joined European Lung Foundation (ELF) Healthy Lungs for Life public awareness campaign to highlight the importance of lung health through a range of events, projects and promotional activities - this year with a focus on lower- and middle-income countries and on climate change.

Not-for-profit organisations, patient groups and healthcare professionals could apply for a grant of up to €1,000 to support events and activities that meet one or more of the aims of the Healthy Lungs for Life campaign:

• Increase knowledge of the impact of poor air quality on lung health and the actions that everyone can take to reduce air pollution and avoid exposure
• Highlight the benefits of quitting smoking
• Increase knowledge of the importance of physical activity for lung health
• Raise awareness of vaccination to prevent lung infections

Find out more about the grants scheme. The closing date for applications was 31 July 2022.

Read about previous events