International Study of Asthma and Allergies in Childhood (ISAAC)

ISAAC was formed in 1991 to facilitate research into asthma, allergic rhino-conjunctivitis and atopic eczema. It has involved more than 2 million children from over 100 countries during three phases and has attracted worldwide interest. The Union has been closely involved with ISAAC and the Asthma Division's Prof Nadia Aït-Khaled served as Regional Coordinator for Francophone Africa and as a member of the Steering Committee. In November 2011, the 20th anniversary of ISAAC was celebrated during the Steering Committee meeting in Auckland, New Zealand.

In 2011 The Union and ISAAC are collaborating on a Global Asthma Report for distribution at the UN Summit on NCDs.

http://isaac.auckland.ac.nz/

WHO Non-Communicable Diseases Department

The 61st World Health Assembly recognised that NCDs represent a public health challenge and endorsed an action plan for a Global Strategy for the Prevention and Control of Non-Communicable Diseases 2008-2013. To support this WHO NCDs action plan, three meetings were organised by WHO in 2008 with the collaboration of its main partners, including The Union.

As part of this effort, The Union contributed to determining a prioritised research agenda for the prevention and control of NCDs; proposing a universal definition of severe asthma, applicable to all countries, promoting access to medicines for chronic diseases; defining the scope and the key questions for evidence synthesis related to the development of WHO guidelines for primary prevention of asthma and COPD; and finalising a "Package of Essential Noncommunicable Diseases Interventions for Primary Health" that could be integrated into the PHC system to manage common NCDs.

WHO NCD Action Plan

NCD Alliance

The Union is one of four leading partners in the Non-communicable Disease (NCD) Alliance, which uses targeted advocacy and outreach to ensure that non-communicable diseases (NCDs) are recognised as a major cause of poverty, a barrier to economic development and a global emergency. In May 2009, The NCD Alliance launched the successful campaign for a United Nations General Assembly Summit on NCDs, which is now scheduled for September 2011. The NCD Summit will raise the profile of NCDs on the global stage, mobilise the international community to take action, secure the commitment of Heads of State to lead the cross-government effort necessary to reverse the epidemic, and send a clear message to donors and funders.

www.ncdalliance.org

2010 Year of the Lung

The 2010 Year of the Lung Campaign launched at the 40th Union World Conference on Lung Health in Cancun, Mexico in December 2009. This year-long project led by the Forum of International Respiratory Diseases was designed to raise public awareness of the unnecessary suffering and death caused by lung diseases. Activities were held throughout the year, culminating with World Spirometry Day on 14 October. More than 102,000 people had their respiratory capacity tested at 412 events worldwide.

www.yearofthelung.org

Forum of International Respiratory Diseases (FIRS)

FIRS is a collaboration of the world's leading respiratory organizations. The steering committee includes The Union, American College of Chest Physicians (ACCP), Asociación Latinoamericana de Tórax (ALAT), Asian Pacific Society of Respirology (APSR), American Thoracic Society (ATS), European Respiratory Society (ERS), and the Pan African Thoracic Society (PATS).

WHO Practical Approach to Lung Health (PAL)

The Practical Approach to Lung health (PAL) is an integrated strategy for the management of respiratory conditions that has been developed as one of the components of the Stop TB strategy for the fight against tuberculosis. PAL focuses on primary health care level for implementing the integrated management of respiratory conditions, including tuberculosis, acute respiratory infections, and chronic respiratory diseases, such as asthma and COPD. The Union's consultants regularly participate in PAL workshops where people from countries are trained on the PAL strategy, and also participated in developing the algorithm for primary health care level to guide the identification and referral of patients with asthma and other lung diseases.

http://www.who.int/tb/health_systems/pal/en/index.html

Global Alliance Against Chronic Respiratory Diseases (GARD)

The Global Alliance against Chronic Respiratory Diseases (GARD) is a voluntary alliance of internationally recognised organisations, institutions, and agencies from developing and developed countries, which aims at sharing expertise, identifying problems, promoting solutions, coordinating activities and working towards the common goal of fighting chronic respiratory diseases. The Union is part of the yearly meetings, and, in 2010, both the Executive Director and the ADF Coordinator attended.

www.who.int/gard/en/

Allergic Rhinitis and its Impact on Asthma (ARIA)

ARIA is a non-governmental organisation (NGO) working in collaboration with the World Health Organization. The purpose and mission of ARIA is to educate and implement evidence-based management of allergic rhinitis in conjunction with asthma through planning, managing, and financing pilot projects to improve the health of broad sectors of the population throughout the world.

www.whiar.org

World Asthma Day

The Union also marks World Asthma Day every year on the first Tuesday in May. For more information and World Asthma Day resources, please visit the website of the Global Initiative for Asthma (GINA).

http://www.ginasthma.com/