Deaths from asthma across Europe should be halved over the next two decades, campaigners said yesterday.
The target has been set for a major project known as the European Asthma Research and Innovation partnership.
About 15,000 of Europe’s estimated 30 million asthma sufferers die every year from the disease.
Asthma UK, which is leading the project, said the death rates are "unacceptably poor."
The project is being backed by the European Union and will tackle a full range of issues including poor organisation of health care, air pollution, drugs availability and training and education for clinicians.
It will also seek to tackle patient behaviour, such as complacency, failing to adhere to treatment and being unable to self-manage.
Dr Samantha Walker, of Asthma UK, said: "Between now and 2020, if no major breakthroughs in research and the management of asthma are made, about 120,000 people in Europe will die as a result of asthma attacks, and four million will be hospitalised.
"We now have the opportunity to change this. By coordinating asthma priorities and activities at a pan-European level, this partnership will channel the collective expertise of world-leading asthma experts, bringing it together around a common goal."
Professor Nikos Papadopoulos, president of the European Academy of Allergy and Clinical Immunology, said: "This funding is a catalyst for change in the field of asthma research; it sets the stage for galvanising expertise and fast-tracking a solution to the immense social and economic burden of asthma in Europe."
Leave a Reply