Each year, more than 3.5 million people die from COPD, a group of lung conditions, including emphysema and chronic bronchitis, that restrict the airways, causing breathing difficulties. The figure represents 5 per cent of deaths worldwide and makes it the fourth leading cause of death globally.
About 90 per cent of COPD deaths occur in low- and middle-income countries (LMICs) where diagnostic capacity is limited, specialist care is scarce and access to essential medicines remains deeply unequal.
Yet, despite this burden, COPD and other chronic respiratory diseases such as asthma continue to receive limited political attention and funding.
