Do Not Let Asthma Ruin Your Life

According to the The Global Asthma Report 2011, published by The International Union Against Tuberculosis and Lung Disease (The Union) and the International Study of Asthma and Allergies in Childhood (ISAAC): Asthma is the most common chronic disease among children and also affects millions of adults. The burden of asthma has been growing over the past 30 years, particularly in low- and middle-income countries, where a large majority of asthma patients are treated only on an emergency basis – when they arrive at a health care facility with an acute attack of asthma. Part of the problem is that quality-assured asthma inhalers, that are essential to well-managed asthma, are either not available or are prohibitively expensive. Another barrier is that the health services lack the strategy, systems and trained staff for providing good asthma care. The Union urges the international community and countries to make sources of funding rapidly available, so that access to quality-assured essential asthma medicines and asthma care can be scaled up and improve the patients’ quality of life, significantly reducing costs for patients and health systems.