Grant Helps Fund GINA Efforts

ALTANA Pharma showed its support for the efforts of the Global Initiative for Asthma (GINA) by supplying a worldwide educational grant for World Asthma Day activities held this year in May. The grant went to local GINA representatives in 7 countries. GINA, established in 1993, is a worldwide collaboration of major health organizations focused on reducing asthma prevalence, morbidity, and mortality. The initiative will be launched in full next year.

During World Asthma Day, Prof Tim Clark, chairman of GINA, shared highlights from GINA?s upcoming report called The Global Burden of Asthma. "According to our new report, asthma globally affects on average an estimated 1 in 20 people, possibly as many as 300 million people worldwide, nearly double previously reported, and the numbers are growing," he said. "The rate of asthma increases as communities adopt Western lifestyles and become urbanized. With the projected increase in urbanization, there is likely to be a marked increase in the number of asthmatics over the next 2 decades."