Defeating Asthma Project Announced for World Asthma Day, May 3, 2022
World Asthma Foundation is supporting care of Asthma and asthmatics around the world through a new series focused on Defeating Asthma with the aim of shining a spotlight on getting to a cure.
The World Asthma Foundation (WAF) exists for education and advocacy for people with asthma who suffer medically with health issues that make them highly vulnerable to the COVID-19 virus and other diseases.
“We can move the needle by taking action now to make the difference for those that suffer from Asthma.” – Alan Gray, Director WAF Australia
We’ve hunkered down close to home here at the WAF. While doing so, we’re poring over volumes of available Asthma research data to share our understanding of the root causes of Asthma with emphasis on Severe Asthma.
Our ultimate goal is to understand the root cause of Severe Asthma (already considered a pandemic by many) while we aim for a cure. By banding together with other Asthmatics, including those that care about Asthmatics and clinicians that treat, we can defeat Asthma and we can do so now.
Why this Matters:
- Asthma is not one disease but many and the causes underlying its development and manifestations are many including environmental issues
- Asthma has reached pandemic levels around the globe
- Asthma is a chronic lung disease that affects over 300 million worldwide
- The projected rate will reach 400 million by 2025
- Environmental exposures have been proven to play a significant role in the development of asthma and as triggers
- Asthma is believed to be determined by a complicated set of one’s own genetics and environmental exposures including a multitude of toxic chemicals and the overuse of antibiotics
- In the U.S., African Americans are almost three times more likely to die from asthma-related causes than the white population
- Australia reported the highest rate of doctor diagnosed, clinical/treated asthma, and wheezing
- Defining asthma remains an ongoing challenge and innovative methods are needed to identify, diagnose, and accurately classify asthma at an early stage to most effectively implement optimal management and reduce the health burden attributable to asthma
- According to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control, The total annual cost of asthma in the United States, including medical care, absenteeism and mortality, was $81.9 Billion a year.