Every year on the first Tuesday in May, the world observes World Asthma Day, a global healthcare event that raises awareness of asthma everywhere. In 2025, World Asthma Day is marked on Tuesday, May 6th. This day marks the joint efforts of numerous international and local organisations to tackle the leading non-communicable disease in both adults and children worldwide.
The Theme for the 2025 World Asthma Day commemoration is “Make Inhaled Treatments Accessible for ALL.” According to GINA, asthma patients must have access to inhaled drugs that are necessary for managing attacks and the underlying condition.
People with asthma and those who care for them experience severe distress during episodes, which can lead to hospitalisation and, in the worst situations, death. Medications that contain inhaled corticosteroids reduce the inflammation that causes asthma, hence preventing episodes.
To prevent the ongoing avoidable morbidity and mortality from asthma, doctors and other health care professionals are called upon to make sure that every patient with the condition is prescribed evidence-based, necessary medication that contains inhaled corticosteroids, either alone or in combination with medication that relieves symptoms.
One of the most prevalent chronic non-communicable diseases, asthma affects more than 260 million people globally and causes more than 450,000 deaths annually. The majority of these deaths can be avoided.
96% of asthma deaths worldwide occur in middle-income nations, largely due to the shortage or exorbitant cost of inhaled medications, particularly inhaled corticosteroid-containing inhalers.
Many asthmatics may not have easy access to necessary inhaled medications due to high costs, even in wealthy nations. This can lead to poorly managed asthma and avoidable asthma-related deaths.
Governments, payers, manufacturers, suppliers, and policy makers are all urged to raise awareness of the ongoing avoidable morbidity and mortality linked to asthma despite the availability of evidence-based, very successful asthma treatment.
We urge everyone to step up their efforts to “Make Inhaled Treatments Accessible for ALL” in every nation of the world.
