The Forum of International Respiratory Societies (FIRS) is an organization bringing together the world’s leading international professional respiratory societies to promote global equity in the prevention, diagnosis and treatment of respiratory disease, to improve lung health.
FIRS was established in 2001 by the following international societies:
- American Thoracic Society
- Asian Pacific Society of Respirology
- Asociación Latino Americana De Tórax
- European Respiratory Society
- International Union Against Tuberculosis and Lung Diseases
- Pan African Thoracic Society
- Global Initiative for Asthma
- Global Initiative for Chronic Obstructive Lung Disease
The mission of FIRS is to promote respiratory health worldwide. It does this in a complementary way to its own organizations through advocacy and by working with the World Health Organization (WHO) and other global organizations representing the respiratory community.
FIRS major activity is global advocacy especially in preventing diseases cause by tobacco products and air pollution. A major goal is to alert the world to the importance of lung health and the global impact of respiratory disease.
FIRS promotes the individual respiratory world action days, including World COPD Day organized by GOLD.
Improving access to quality, affordable, and effective inhalers for COPD and asthma
A FIRS working group, comprising Professor David Halpin from GOLD, Professor Heather Zar from the Pan African Thoracic Society and Professor Guy Marks from The Union is currently working on two initiatives to close the wide access gaps to inhaled medicines for COPD and asthma. These are:
- Inclusion of language in the Political Declaration from the UN High-level NCD meeting (2025)
- Development of a WHA Resolution to increase access to quality, affective, and affordable inhaled medicines for patients with COPD and asthma (2026)
The group is generating support for the inclusion of text about the burden of chronic lung diseases, and in particular COPD and asthma, and the problems with access to therapy in the Political Declaration. The draft Resolution for the 2026 World Health Assembly aims to improve the availability of quality, affordable, and effective inhalers for COPD and asthma in all LMICs. If adopted, the Resolution will spur national governments, industry, and global health agencies and donors to invest greater resources to meet the urgent need.