The Speak Up for COPD Coalition is fighting against chronic obstructive pulmonary disease with awareness campaign

Chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) is the world’s third leading cause of death. Although often overlooked, it is still widespread, currently affecting around 391 million individuals worldwide. Some of the most common symptoms include difficulty breathing, chronic coughing, and fatigue, which have been linked to poor quality of life and premature death.

The effects of COPD go beyond the impact on individuals and their families. In fact, by 2030, COPD is projected to cost the healthcare system and local economies an estimated $4.8 trillion. This exceeds the projected costs of cardiovascular disease and diabetes combined. COPD is one of the most serious chronic diseases, yet it is still under-researched compared to other non-communicable diseases.

The Speak Up for COPD Coalition has made it its mission to raise awareness and understanding of COPD among policymakers and healthcare decision-makers. The company wants to amplify the voices of patients, the COPD community, and the public. Speak Up for COPD is supported by a coalition of partners* across the healthcare industry and the non-profit sector. All partners contribute time and expertise to the coalition’s activities. A recent publicly traded company survey reveals that once informed about the burden of COPD, over 60% of the surveyed public believes governments should do more to prevent unnecessary deaths and hospitalizations from this disease.

The Speak Up for COPD Coalition is now announcing the launch of a social campaign to bring awareness to COPD. The campaign is being launched through all 110 patient organizations that are part of the coalition to bring awareness through blowing bubbles, which will be shared across social media platforms. The coalition is led by the Global Allergy and Airways Patient Platform (GAAPP), which has been working to shine a light on COPD as the third leading cause of death worldwide for many years.

The 110 patient advocacy organizations from all over the world are made up of many different nonprofits, industry partners, healthcare professionals, and health societies that all have a shared goal to elevate COPD as a policy priority.

Every year on COPD awareness day, the coalition uses public service announcements and other media to engage with national governments to address the immediate needs of COPD patients and advocate for more research into the disease. For 2023’s awareness day, they'll be attending the Gold Conference at Temple University in Philadelphia from November 13–15, an educational symposium focusing on COPD policies and the latest research on diagnosing and treating people with the disease. "We're on a global mission to raise awareness and fight COPD," says Tonya Winders (Coalition Chair).

“What the coalition aims to do is help support each organization in our member base and bring a single voice to the global level of awareness of immunological and respiratory diseases,” says Winders. “We strive to drive awareness to educate patients, caregivers, and healthcare providers about the patient's unmet needs, burdens, and concerns of living with these conditions. Thirdly, we advocate on behalf of those patients to governments and organizations.”

*Coalition partners: Global Allergy & Airways Patient Platform (GAAPP), International Federation of Ageing (IFA), COPD Foundation, International Coalition of Respiratory Nurses (ICRN), International Pharmaceutical Federation (FIP), with funding from AstraZeneca