It is time for the world to take COPD seriously: a statement from the GOLD board of directors

Chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) is the third leading cause of death in the world and it is thought that one in 10 of the adult global population have the disease [1]. Despite this, COPD has not received the level of attention it requires by Ministries of Health and health services, particularly in low and middle-income countries (LMIC), where most of the people with this disease live and where there is limited access to spirometry to confirm the diagnosis, little effective therapy and minimal public health policy on prevention. In 2012 the World Health Assembly endorsed the “25 by 25 goal”, focusing on reducing premature deaths from noncommunicable disease (NCDs) by 25% by the year 2025 [2], but while the third United Nations (UN) high-level meeting on NCDs in September 2018 acknowledged that “action to realize the commitments made for the prevention and control of noncommunicable diseases is inadequate” many felt the political declaration lacked ambition and was a missed opportunity to address the global NCD epidemic. As COPD is a highly prevalent NCD, is the third most common cause of premature death and is highly preventable we, the Board of Directors of the Global Initiative for Chronic Obstructive Lung Disease (GOLD), are especially concerned that the disease has not been taken seriously enough by the UN/World Health Organization (WHO): not enough is being done to address the increasing prevalence, morbidity and mortality caused by COPD and there is no coordinated strategy to encourage countries to prioritise and resource its prevention and management.