As countries prepare to gather in Geneva for the 78th World Health Assembly (WHA), the European Federation of Allergy and Airways Diseases Patients’ Associations (EFA), together with partners in the European Lung Health Group (ELHG), urges the EU to show leadership and support the first-ever World Health Organisation (WHO) global resolution on lung health.
In a joint open letter to the EU Permanent Delegation to the WHO, we call on the EU to support the resolution by encouraging a unified vote by Member States and a commitment to coordinated action against respiratory diseases.
Why is the resolution important for European patients?
In Europe, over 36 million people live with asthma or COPD, conditions that often go underdiagnosed, untreated or mismanaged. Patients face long waits for diagnosis, barriers to access, and stigma that undermines their mental health and everyday life. However, despite the prevalence and their impact, these chronic diseases are often excluded from long-term strategies or underprioritised in national health plans.
The resolution puts forward a global commitment to strengthen the prevention, early detection and management of lung diseases. It addresses both chronic and infectious respiratory conditions including asthma, COPD, tuberculosis, lung cancer and COVID-19 and recognises the impact of shared risk factors such as air pollution, tobacco use and occupational exposure.
It proposes the development of a WHO-led Global Action Plan on lung health and calls on Member States to reinforce their national responses through integrated care, access to affordable medicines, capacity-building, digital tools and stronger primary healthcare systems.
For EFA, the resolution reflects a long-standing call to action: embed respiratory health in EU and national policies and ensure that patients are not left behind. Its focus on integration, equity and patient-centred care aligns closely with the goals of Europe’s Healthier Together initiative and the conclusions of the Belgian Council Presidency’s on non-communicable diseases.
ELHG open letter to the EU
To strengthen the EU's role in global respiratory health, EFA and the other members of the ELHG co-signed an open letter addressed to the EU Permanent Delegation to the WHO. The letter outlines the importance of supporting the resolution and calls for:
- EU co-sponsorship of the resolution on integrated lung health
- A united EU voice encouraging Member States to vote in favour
- A public EU statement reinforcing the urgency to address respiratory diseases globally and regionally.
The open letter reflects the voices of 9 European-level organisations, representing 179 national members in 34 countries, including patient groups, healthcare professionals, and researchers working across the lung health spectrum. We are urging EU institutions to take a clear position in Geneva in favour of this resolution.
What’s at stake?
Adopting the resolution would mark a turning point for global lung health and a major step forward for patients to #KeepBreathing across Europe. It would pave the way for coordinated policy responses, improved access to care, treatments and greater investment in the prevention and management of chronic respiratory diseases.
EFA will continue to engage with European policymakers to ensure that the priorities of patients with asthma, COPD and other chronic lung conditions are included in the agenda at WHA78 and beyond.