COPD affects 391 million people worldwide—that’s equivalent to the population of 47 New York Cities or 44 Londons, 10 Tokyos, or 28 Rio De Janeiros. Yet despite its massive impact, COPD continues to be underprioritised, underfunded, and undertreated across healthcare systems globally. 1

This #WorldCOPDDay (19 November), we are urging healthcare providers and policymakers to take decisive action by implementing standardized quality measures for COPD diagnosis and management. Consistent care is a core element in improving patient outcomes and ensuring that everyone, regardless of location, age, gender, or economic background, has access to the right care plan and support.

COPD should no longer be sidelined. With increased attention, funding, and systemic changes, we can reshape how this disease is managed and elevate it to the public health priority it deserves to be.

Join us in the movement to empower patients, advocate for change, and act to improve care.

Join our Social Chat Day and Speak up for COPD

The Social Chat Day is a focused, global conversation held on 19 November across GAAPP’s LinkedIn and Facebook channels. We’ll post a sequence of open and poll questions using hashtag #SpeakUpforCOPD.

This is an opportunity to leverage your expert voice and unite with advocates worldwide to fight the barriers of stigma and underfunding in COPD care. Our goal is to generate a powerful, unified message that drives policy change and increases awareness. To ensure our collective impact, we ask for your full participation:

➜ Comment on our official posts with your professional insights, local data, policy recommendations, or experiences fighting the barriers of stigma and underfunding.

Additionally, we encourage you to post your own messages using the official hashtag #SpeakUpforCOPD to amplify your expert perspective and call for change.

Get ready now to make your voice heard—pre-register to receive the questions in advance by clicking here.

Ipsos Global Survey 2025

Policymakers Are Paying Attention, But More Action Is Needed

Join Social Chat Day

Awareness among policymakers has grown from 37% in 2022 to 59% in 2025. 8

More than three-quarters (76%) of policymakers now recognize COPD as a serious burden on health systems. 8
Still, stigma and misconceptions continue to block policy and integrated care progress, with COPD often seen only as a “smoker’s disease.” 9

Patient Testimonials & Educational Videos

Use the player’s top-right icon to see all the videos.

Other resources

introduction

More information about COPD

Scientifically validated, up-to-date content for patients and the general public, simplified and adapted so everyone can understand.

Learn more
report

The Global State of COPD

This report offers insights on the burden of COPD and highlights opportunities for policy action and showcases promising initiatives around the world.

Learn more
partners

Live 24h event

Join Pass the Baton and us for a day-long global livestream broadcast on World COPD Day. We’ll co-host the Americas segment, offering expert panels, educational content, and patient stories.

Learn more

Communication grant for GAAPP Member Organizations

GAAPP has launched its communication grant for World COPD Day 2025.

A 200€ grant is offered to help us promote these resources from 3 November to 30 December 2025. The assets are available in English, Chinese, Dutch, French, German, Hebrew, Indonesian, Italian, Portuguese, Serbian, Spanish and Vietnamese.

To apply for the grant and obtain the social media assets, please click on the button below:

Apply for the Communication Grant

Speak Up for COPD is supported by a coalition of partners* across the industry and the non-profit sector. All partners contribute time and expertise to the coalition activities.

*Coalition partners: Global Allergy & Airways Patient Platform (GAAPP), International Federation of Ageing (IFA), COPD Foundation, International Coalition of Respiratory Nurses (ICRN), International Pharmaceutical Federation (FIP), with funding from AstraZeneca, GSK, Roche, Sanofi and Regeneron.

With generous support from our sponsors:

GSK logo

References

  1. Adeloye D, Song P, Zhu Y, et al. Global, regional, and national prevalence of, and risk factors for, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) in 2019: a systematic review and modeling analysis. Lancet Respir Med. (2022) Vol 10(5); 447-458 [REF-162199]
  2. Bhutani M, et al. Quality Standard Position Statements for Health System Policy Changes in Diagnosis and Management of COPD: A Global Perspective. Adv Ther. 2022 Jun;39(6):2302- 2322. [REF-202070]
  3. Make B, Dutro MP, Paulose-Ram R, et al. (2012). Undertreatment of COPD: a retrospective analysis of US managed care and Medicare patients. Int J Chronic Obstruct Pulmon Dis. 7:1-9 [REF-80823]
  4. Quaderi, S. A., & Hurst, J. R. (2018). The unmet global burden of COPD. Global Health, Epidemiology, and Genomics, 3, e4. [REF-101911]
  5. AstraZeneca, Act on COPD. 2022. Common, Preventable, Treatable: Has COPD been underprioritised? [REF-202062]
  6. Mannino D, et al. Int J COPD. 2022:17; 749-761. Treatment Patterns for Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease (COPD) in the United States: Results from an Observational Cross-Sectional Physician and Patient Survey. [REF-150456]
  7. AstraZeneca Data on file. 2023. A point prevalence study of COPD therapy in 13361 patients using the myCOPD app: examining real-time capture of disease control measures. [REF-205911]
  8. Ipsos (2025). Global Policymakers’ Perspectives on COPD | Survey of Attitudes and Perceptions – Wave 2 Final Report (conducted on behalf of GAAPP and Speak Up for COPD). REF-281376.
  9. Mathioudakis AG, Abroug F, Agusti A, et al. Stigma: an unmet public health priority in COPD. Lancet Respir Med. 2021;9(9):955–956. doi:10.1016/S2213-2600(21)00323-7.