Lung Health Forum From Resolution to Action: Government Leadership on Lung Health

Lung diseases don’t just affect individuals. They also impact families, communities, and entire health systems. Yet despite being one of the leading causes of mortality, claiming more than 18 million lives a year, lung conditions remain chronically underfunded and overlooked.

In recognition of this challenge, at the 78th World Health Assembly in 2025, member states adopted a landmark resolution on integrated lung health. Led by the government of Malaysia, the resolution called on countries to accelerate national actions to prevent, diagnose, and manage common lung conditions such as asthma, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, or COPD, and lung cancer.

One year on, the Lung Health Forum at WHA79 provides a critical, high-level moment to take stock of progress made and identify what still needs to be done to turn resolution commitments into national action. The agenda will include panels focused on COPD and lung cancer, two of the highest-burden lung diseases, as well as a wider-lens discussion on the importance of lung health equity to reach high-risk populations.

This event is invite-only and hosted by the Ministry of Health of Malaysia and convened by Devex, organized in collaboration with and funded by AstraZeneca.