EFA

In media news this month, EFA has collaborated in writing a paper on research needs in allergy and is pleased to announce its data is mentioned in a new WHO-WMO ‘Atlas of Health and Climate’   EFA collaborates in new paper on research needs in allergy EFA and the European Academy of Allergy and Clinical Immunology (EAACI) have collaborated to publish a new research paper on research needs in allergy. At a time when allergy has evolved into a major public health threat due to modern environmental and lifestyle changes, and is taking an increasingly heavy financial toll, the aim of the paper is to highlight the most important research needs in the field of allergy in the hope that they will serve as key recommendations for future research funding at national and European level. The paper stresses that effective prevention; curative treatment and accurate, rapid diagnosis represent major unmet needs. It makes the case for more detailed phenotyping/endotyping, and for more extensive studies to foster innovation in the field. It also states that treatments currently being developed have much potential to improve targeted and causal management of allergic conditions, and concludes that the active involvement of all stakeholders, including patient organisations and policy makers, is necessary to meet the challenges it sets out. Research Needs in Allergy: an EAACI position paper, in collaboration with EFA, more information   EFA mentioned in new WHO-WMO ‘Atlas of Health and Climate’ With the world’s climate continuing to change, threats to human health are changing and increasing. At the end of October the World Health Organisation (WHO) and the World Meteorological Organisation (WMO) launched "The Atlas of Health and Climate" at the World Meteorological Congress in Geneva, Switzerland. The Atlas highlights current and emerging challenges to human health and showcases how climate services can protect human health through prevention, preparedness and risk management.  It contains maps, tables and graphs to make the link between health and climate more explicit. EFA was pleased to learn that data it compiled on the prevalence of allergy in Europe (EFA estimates that there are 80 million European adults living with allergy) was used in the section on Pollens (p. 48).  The section emphasises the economic burden of allergies, in particular allergy-provoked asthma, and the fact that climate-related allergies are on the rise. Also of interest for our disease areas are the sections on ‘Air-borne dispersion of hazardous materials’ (p. 34), ‘Heat stress’ (p. 40) and ‘Air pollution’ (p. 52).