Lung health in LMICs: tackling challenges ahead

by Ee Ming Khoo, Donald Li, Mehmet Ungan, Rachel Jordan, Hilary Pinnock

We welcome Jamilah Meghji and colleagues' Review about improving lung health in low-income and middle-income countries (LMICs), and we are particularly encouraged by the focus on the frequently neglected field of chronic respiratory diseases. However, we find that insufficient attention was paid to the role of primary care, which is the keystone for universal health coverage and, therefore, the route to improved prevention, diagnosis, and individualised and holistic treatment for most of the population. The interconnection between primary care and public health can address the social determinants of health and promote community participation, which are crucial to lung health across the lifecourse.

Correspondence, www.thelancet.com, Vol 398, August 7, 2021

https://doi.org/10.1016/S0140-6736(21)01230-7