Message From the President

Ten million people will die this year from lung disease. Of these, almost half will needlessly die from the effects of tobacco use; two million will die from tuberculosis - a curable disease for which inexpensive, effective drugs are widely available; two million children under the age of five will die of untreated or incorrectly diagnosed pneumonia; and another one million individuals will die from asthma and a host of other respiratory conditions.

In addition, the HIV/AIDS pandemic is exacerbating the TB epidemic. TB is the leading killer of people living with AIDS in developing countries, and people infected with both HIV and TB are 30 times more likely to develop active tuberculosis. HIV - which can be managed with antiretroviral medications - is the main reason that many high-burden countries, especially in sub-Saharan Africa, have been unable to meet international tuberculosis control targets.

The World Lung Foundation has been established because we believe that research, education, advocacy, and cooperation among organizations that are working to improve lung health can - and will - reduce these unnecessary deaths.

In support of our mission to improve lung health for people throughout the world, the Foundation works with organizations and agencies such as the Stop TB Partnership, the World Health Organization, and the International Union Against Tuberculosis and Lung Disease (The Union). The Union is a nonprofit scientific organization that has played a leading role in the fight against tuberculosis and other lung diseases for 86 years. Among The Union's many achievements has been the development of DOTS, the internationally recommended TB control strategy endorsed by the World Health Organization for treatment and control of tuberculosis. The DOTS strategy has now been implemented in 182 countries throughout the world, saving millions of lives.

The World Lung Foundation is working with partner agencies to create similarly innovative models of tobacco prevention and cessation in countries with the highest rates of tobacco consumption. Global tobacco use is predicted to rise from the current 1.3 billion smokers to 1.6 billion by 2030, principally because of population expansion. In addition, the epidemic is being transferred from developed to developing countries, which are least able to shoulder the health and economic burden. Effective tobacco control policies are well-known – such as tax increases, creation of smoke-free areas, and bans on all advertising and promotion. The WHO Framework Convention on Tobacco Control (FCTC), supported by the World Lung Foundation, the Union, and other members of civil society, offers an immediate route for implementing such policies and reducing the tobacco toll.

The World Lung Foundation works with The Union, WHO, and other international organizations that share its goals by developing and funding projects and training programs, advocating for evidence-based lung health policy, promoting scientific exchanges among researchers, and raising funds for the advancement and application of basic science to treat and cure lung disease.

Please join us in our efforts. Working together, we can help everyone in the world breathe more easily.

Louis James de Viel Castel
President
World Lung Foundation