[PRESS RELEASE] Geneva, 23 May 2025 – Member States at the 78th World Health Assembly have adopted the milestone World Health Organization (WHO) resolution on lung health, committing to coordinated national action to tackle the growing burden of respiratory diseases[1]. With the passing vote, the resolution was supported by countries worldwide, demonstrating the increased global interest in addressing the urgency of respiratory diseases. [2]
The resolution comes at a critical moment. In Europe, one in eight people live with a chronic lung condition, and over 600,000 people die every year due to respiratory diseases[3][4]. The European Lung Health Group (ELHG), a coalition of 9 European-level organisations, welcomes the global commitment and calls for swift EU and national level action to follow.
The WHO resolution, ‘Promoting and prioritizing an integrated lung health approach’ calls on governments to adopt an integrated approach to lung health, encompassing prevention, diagnosis, treatment, palliative care, rehabilitation and the active involvement of patients and caregivers. The resolution covers both chronic and infectious respiratory diseases, which are also represented by the European Lung Health Group (ELHG), including asthma, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD), lung cancer, tuberculosis, pulmonary hypertension, pulmonary fibrosis and cystic fibrosis.
With this resolution, the WHA has taken a major step towards coordinated national lung health policies, recognising the complexity of respiratory health and the needs of the people affected[5].
In April 2025, the ELHG sent an Open Letter to the EU delegation to the WHO, calling them to urge Member States to support the resolution[6]. The letter underlines the urgent need for stronger lung health policies in Europe.
To support national implementation of the resolution, WHO will provide countries with technical guidance, capacity building and tools for monitoring and evaluation. ELHG will continue working with WHO Europe, the EU institutions and governments to ensure that the resolution leads to concrete action in line with the needs of people with living with respiratory diseases.
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Notes to editors
The European Lung Health Group
We are an informal group of 9 European-level organisations representing patients across lung disease and health care professionals. Our mission centres around bringing together know-how to support our organisations in empowering patients with lung diseases, improving quality of life, optimising multidisciplinary care, and early diagnosis, and research. At the European level, we reinforce the messages of our organisations to strive for better care, increased patient participation and improved prevention, to reduce fragmentation of knowledge and voices around lung health at the European level.
Contacts
European Federation of Allergy and Airways Diseases Patients’ Associations (EFA)
Isabel Proaño, Director of Policy and Communications
This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. / +32 2 227 27 12
[1] WHO Draft resolution ‘Promoting and prioritizing an integrated lung health approach’, EB 156 (19), WHO, February 2025: https://apps.who.int/gb/ebwha/pdf_files/EB156/B156_(19)-en.pdf
[2] Resolution proposed by Bangladesh, Brunei Darussalam, China, Egypt, Ghana, Guatemala, Japan, Kuwait, Malaysia, Palestine, Qatar, Romania, Thailand and Vanuatu. Thus, Romania is the only European country to propose the resolution
[3] WHO highlights huge scale of tobacco-related lung disease deaths, WHO, 2019: https://www.who.int/news/item/29-05-2019-who-highlights-huge-scale-of-tobacco-related-lung-disease-deaths#:~:text=In%202017%2C%20tobacco%20killed%203.3,from%20respiratory%20infections%20and%20tuberculosis
[4] Keep Breathing: A Vision for EU action on lung health 2024 – 2029, European Lung Health Group, 2024: https://breathevision.eu/images/A_vision_for_EU_action_on_lung_health_2024-2029_-_KeepBreathing_publication.pdf
[5] Keep Breathing: A Vision for EU action on lung health 2024 – 2029, European Lung Health Group, 2024: https://breathevision.eu/images/A_vision_for_EU_action_on_lung_health_2024-2029_-_KeepBreathing_publication.pdf
[6] Open Letter to the EU Permanent Delegation to the World Health Assembly, ELHG, 2025: https://breathevision.eu/images/documents/WHA_resolution_on_lung_health_Letter_to_EU_delegation.pdf
