18 June, 2025
Key stakeholders in respiratory medicine from across Europe gathered at the ERS Presidential Summit in Dublin, Ireland for an in-depth look at respiratory disease prevention – a topic high on the ERS agenda.
Led by ERS President Prof. Silke Ryan in collaboration with Past President Prof. Monika Gappa, the Summit was attended by respiratory experts, government representatives, public health figures, healthcare professionals and patients.
It spotlighted the importance of prevention of respiratory disease – considering examples of successes, weaknesses, and gaps in data and research. It also presented an opportunity to discuss initiatives that policy makers could consider, and determined new processes, policies, products or programmes to respond to the burden of respiratory diseases.
The burden of chronic respiratory diseases
ERS President Prof. Silke Ryan opened the event by giving an overview of the impact which chronic respiratory diseases (CRDs) such as asthma and COPD have in Europe, as well as potential solutions to the issues they pose.
Prof. Ryan explained that according to figures from a new ERS and WHO Regional Office for Europe report into chronic respiratory diseases, 81.7 million people are living with a CRD in the WHO European Region; they cause 400,000 deaths per year. The nine major lung conditions amount to an economic cost of €1.4 trillion in the EU; the productivity loss between ages 30 and 64 due to CRDs in the WHO European Region is US$ 20.7 billion.
Opening remarks from Dr Diarmuid O’Shea (President, Royal College of Physicians of Ireland) and Dr Romana Jerkovic (Co-Chair of the MEP Lung Health Group) followed Prof. Ryan’s welcome.
Breaking out of silos – risk factors, prevention and determining best practices
ERS Advocacy Council Chair Prof. Barbara Hoffmann opened the Summit’s first session by underlining the fact that most respiratory illnesses are preventable. An expert panel featuring Prof. Zorana J. Andersen (University of Copenhagen), Prof. Jonathan Grigg (Queen Mary University of London), Dr Milka Sokolovic (Director General, European Public Health Alliance) and Dr Alexander Simidchiev (Member of Parliament, Bulgaria), then analysed risk factors. These include tobacco and novel product use; climate change and air pollution; the ways in which early life risk factors impact lung health trajectories; and the way that the EU is a catalyst for primary prevention of respiratory disease.
Early detection and screening: successes, gaps, and opportunities
The Summit’s second session, introduced by Prof. Patricia Fitzpatrick of the University College Dublin, highlighted that respiratory health is a key indicator of overall health in young individuals; ensuring healthy lungs throughout the life-course requires preventive measures to minimise the risk factors of illness.
An expert panel discussion, moderated by ERS President Elect Prof. Joanna Chorostowska-Wynimko, highlighted the effectiveness of screening as a tool for prevention, particularly given technological and digital advances. The panel featured Dr Abigail Collins (National Clinical Lead in Child Health Public Health for the HSE), Prof. Ildiko Horvath (ERS Secretary General Elect and Scientific Coordinator of the Joint Action on Chronic Respiratory Diseases), and Prof. Erik Melen, (Karolinska Institute).
The session also reinforced the point that lung health begins in early life; identification of individuals at risk and implementing targeted intervention approaches are essential.
Lived experiences and pragmatic solutions
Chaired by ERS Education Council Chair Prof. Hilary Pinnock and European Lung Foundation Council member Helen Parks, the Summit’s third session focused on lived experiences and disease management, incorporating patient perspectives.
It emphasised the importance of listening to people with lived experiences of respiratory illness. An expert panel featuring ELF Council member Liam Galvin, Prof. Richard Costello (Royal College of Surgeons of Ireland), Dr Sally Singh (University Hospitals of Leicester) and Prof. Ellen Crushell (Department of Health of Ireland) addressed topics such as the realignment of community care and social prescribing models, the value of access to pulmonary rehabilitation, the need to develop personalised management plans and the ways in which digital tools can be best used.
ERS and WHO report highlights alarming impact of CRDs
The day concluded with a special session dedicated to the launch of the first ever ERS/WHO Regional Office for Europe report on chronic respiratory diseases – a report which highlights the alarming impact of CRDs in the WHO European Region, and reveals that CRDs are vastly under diagnosed, poorly managed and significantly underestimated in their impact on health systems across the Region.
Dr Hans Kluge, Director of the WHO Regional Office for Europe, opened the session – highlighting the true scale of the issue which CRDs pose in Europe, as well as recommended action by respiratory stakeholders.
As well as a presentation of the content of the report, panel discussions focused on how to close the health inequity gap in Europe, with public health representatives from Kyrgyzstan, Portugal, Moldova, Lithuania and Slovenia offering insight into country perspectives.
Jose Luis Castro – WHO special envoy on CRDs
Jose Luis Castro, the WHO special envoy on chronic respiratory diseases, provided the global perspective on CRDs. He highlighted that despite being the most preventable and treatable diseases, CRDs are “like Cinderella – they are left behind”.
However, Jose Luis emphasised that we are in a unique policy window to elevate CRDs in the political discourse. With the World Health Assembly Lung Health Resolution adopted ahead of the UN High Level Meeting on NCDs in September, CRDs are beginning to get long overdue visibility. Jose Luis concluded that “Cinderella is already dancing”.
Prof. Silke Ryan, ERS President, said: “The ERS Presidential Summit brought together key stakeholders in respiratory health to highlight the burden of respiratory diseases, the impact of preventative strategies and the gaps in data and research. It fostered a critical debate on initiatives that health policy makers could consider and on processes, policies, and programmes that respond to the burden of respiratory health.
“Respiratory diseases represent a dramatic global public health burden – through high morbidity, mortality, healthcare utilisation and cost. Prevention holds the key to changing the trajectory; investing into holistic prevention strategies will reduce hospitalisations, improve quality of life and prevent premature death.
“Furthermore, prevention of chronic respiratory and other non-communicable diseases will strengthen our health systems, relieve economic burden, empower individuals and communities to take control of their health, and promote social justice.
“A highlight of the summit was the launch of the first ever WHO Europe/ERS report on CRDs in the WHO European Region, on which the ERS has been working in close collaboration with WHO. The summit was a call to action to shift the paradigm from reactive treatment to proactive prevention.”
Read the WHO/Europe and ERS report on chronic respiratory diseases.