RESPIRE’s low-cost, scalable policy, clinical interventions to reduce respiratory diseases, deaths in Sri Lanka

From left: Prof. Savithri Wimalasekara of University of Jayewardenepura, Dr. Inoka Suraweera of Health Ministry, Prof. Aziz Sheikh of University of Edinburgh, University of Malaya RESPIRE Director Prof. Ee Ming Khoo, University of Edinburgh RESPIRE Director Prof. Harry Campbell and Prof. Dushantha Madegedara of University of Wayambe

By W.A.N.B.S. Siriwardena

Respiratory health experts from across the world convened in Colombo to discuss the cross-country collaboration and showcase the breadth of research being conducted to decrease the burden of respiratory diseases in the Asian region.

This annual scientific meeting facilitated by the NIHR Global Health Research Unit on Respiratory Health (RESPIRE) was inaugurated at Cinnamon Grand, Colombo recently.

The event marked the first time the research unit convened a conference in Sri Lanka since its inception in 2016, highlighting the need for further investment into respiratory health research in the country.

Speaking at the event Prof. of Genetic Epidemiology and Public Health Harry Campbell, who is also Co-Director/UK lead for Pakistan at RESPIRE, said the effort is to promote low-scale, scalable, interventions to improve respiratory health in Sri Lanka, funded by the overseas development assistance of the UK government.
He stressed that the organisation’s main focus is on diseases such as pneumonia, tuberculosis, COPD, asthma and lung cancer, working across a spectrum of communities, community leaders, civil society organisations, patients, health care workers and policymakers.

RESPIRE will actively introduce and evaluate new interventions and improve access to treatments that are inaccessible to rural communities such as oxygen therapy and encourage policy attention to issues such as tobacco control and air quality, he said.

Poor air quality is claimed to be responsible for the rise of many respiratory diseases, including lung cancers and just as outdoor air pollution is a concern in cities, indoor air pollution threatens rural communities, where firewood is used for cooking in poorly ventilated kitchens.

Due to it being understudied despite its wide scope, Sri Lankan researchers from the Universities of Jayewardenepura, Peradeniya and Wayamba have selected indoor air quality as their research focus under the RESPIRE collaboration.

Together, chronic respiratory diseases (CRDs) and pneumonia caused the highest number of Sri Lankan hospital deaths in 2017 (18 percent). In 2019, CRDs were the third-leading cause of death globally, responsible for four million deaths, with a prevalence of 454.6 million cases.

Health Ministry Consultant Community Physician Dr. Inoka Suraweera said that the Health Ministry through its directorate of environmental health inter-sectoral and intra- sectoral collaborations to take preventive as well as curative solutions using the existing platforms of service delivery such as the preventive anti-natal clinics, mother support groups, school medical inspections and many more.

She mentioned that the Health Ministry has partnered with the Central Environmental Authority to develop a contingency response action plan for deterioration of air quality, with air quality indexes and actions at each level identified, as a countermeasure to transboundary air pollution.

She further mentioned that the Health Ministry has been carrying out capacity building projects among the service, undergraduates, postgraduates and among professionals at district levels to carry the message forward to society at large.