Air pollution, changes in climate and rapid urbanization have led to a surge in the number of respiratory illnesses, top officials say

By Leenah Wahab  

The Secretary of the Ministry of Health, Dr. Palitha Mahipala commented on the spread of respiratory-related ailments in Sri Lanka at the annual research conference of the National Institute of Health and Care Research (NIHR) held recently. Discussions ranged from policies to improve air quality in India, to the problem of Smear Negative Pulmonary Tuberculosis prevalent in Low and Middle Income Countries.
“Developing countries with poverty and a lack of education are more vulnerable to the spread of disease as they are not privy to the dangers of fumes with toxic gases or cooking in small spaces,” he said.   
In 2016, the NIHR funded the Global Health Research Unit on Respiratory Health, or RESPIRE, a project aimed at improving respiratory health in Asia, co-led by the University of Edinburgh and University of Malaya.   
According to investigations conducted by the NIHR, together, chronic respiratory diseases (CRD) and pneumonia accounted for 18 percent of Sri Lankan hospital deaths in 2017. Among chronic respiratory diseases, asthma and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) are two leading diseases causing the highest burden of disease and deaths. They further stated that children wheezing is a major cause of school absence, and in adults, asthma and COPD have a high prevalence of 11% and 10.5% respectively.   
Sri Lankan researchers from Universities of Jayawardenepura, Peradeniya and Wayamba will be researching the extent of indoor air pollution due to biomass fuel consumption and its health effects on pregnant mothers and children in Colombo and Kandy, under the RESPIRE programme. Their research is believed to be quintessential in alleviating the epidemic of respiratory-related disease in Sri Lanka.