BREATHE for 2030 Vision – one voice from lung patients and healthcare professionals!
EFA’s BREATHE project continued to strengthen the European Lung Health Group (ELHG), a collaboration between nine European level patient and healthcare professional organisations. EFA is member and facilitator of the group, alongside the European Respiratory Society (ERS), and together we supported the group in advocating for lung health to be prioritised at European level. EFA representative in the ELHG is EFA Board Member, Christine Strous.
Key Moments in 2024
A significant achievement of ELHG was the publication of a policy brief ‘#KeepBreathing: A Vision for EU Action on Lung Health 2024-2029’, for the new EU mandate (2024-2029), outlining concrete proposals for EU action on lung health. To drive this agenda forward, the group launched several high-impact initiatives throughout the year.
One key initiative was the launch event of the recommendations in the brief with Members of the European Parliament (MEP) Tomislav Sokol, Radka Maxová, and Stelios Kympouropoulos. They emphasised the urgent need for stronger EU action on lung health and set the stage for the first European High-Level Forum on Lung Health, organised by the ELHG. This event brought together partners, policymakers and experts to further advance the campaign and explore pathways to improve lung health and respiratory disease care across Europe.
Momentum continued in March, when EFA, on behalf of the ELHG, was selected to present the #KeepBreathing lung health campaign during the European Commission’s DG SANTE stakeholder webinar on prevention of non-communicable diseases. This platform allowed us to bring lung health to the forefront of the EU policy priority planning.
In May, EFA together with ERS presented the #KeepBreathing campaign to the European Commission’s Health Emergency Preparedness and Response Authority (HERA). We highlighted the need for resilient health systems and the integration of lung health into policies on climate change and emergency preparedness. EFA’s Director of Policy, Isabel Proaño and ERS Dr. Eva Polverino emphasised investing in prevention and addressing antimicrobial resistance (AMR) to strengthen healthcare systems and better prepare for future health crises.
In June, representatives from EFA and the ERS travelled to Luxembourg on behalf of the ELHG to meet with the European Commission Directorate-Generals of Health and Food Safety (DG SANTE), and the Communications, Networks, Content and Technology (DG CONNECT) to discuss support for lung health in the EU4Health and Digital Europe programmes.
In October, EFA was proud to represent the ELHG and its Keep Breathing campaign at the European Patients’ Forum’s High-Level Policy Event in Brussels, calling for a comprehensive EU lung health policy. The campaign emphasises the need for preventive measures, improved care and patient-centred research to support respiratory patients across Europe. EFA highlighted the importance of patient voices in shaping EU health policy, advocating for a more resilient, inclusive healthcare system.
The work of the European Lung health Group and the #KeepBreathing campaign occurs in synergy with the International Respiratory Coalition (IRC) who is working at global level and supporting national coalitions in European countries.
The COVID-19 pandemic highlighted the very strong vulnerability to respiratory diseases, therefore we should prioritise lung health. It would enhance the ability of healthcare systems to response effectively to future respiratory challenges.
It’s well known that extreme weather events can impact the quality of the air and contribute to worsening respiratory issues that can be chronic but also lethal.
What we can do in the European Parliament is to give more priority to health in general. Currently we have the same committee in the Parliament which is in charge for environment and health.
#KeepBreathing in numbers
Capacity building
Since 2022, EFA has been supporting its community of members with scholarships to participate in the European Patients’ Academy on Therapeutic Innovation’s (EUPATI) Patient Expert Training Programme. The training is designed for patients and patient representatives to learn more about research and drug development.
In 2024, EFA provided five scholarships to allergy, asthma and/or chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) patients and patient representatives to complete the EUPATI Patient Expert Training Programme. In October, we also celebrated in Madrid the graduation of six EUPATI fellows who had received the EFA’s scholarships the previous year. These includes three members of the EFA Youth Parliament (from Ireland and Spain), and representatives from the Austrian Lung Union (Austria), Allergy and Me (Serbia) and the Spanish Association for People with Food and Latex Allergy (Spain).
I extend my gratitude to the European Federation of Allergy and Airways Diseases Patients’ Associations (EFA) for allowing me to partake in the transformative program. I eagerly anticipate using this knowledge in future settings, such as the European Youth Parliament, where the voice of the patient must resonate powerfully