PTA host of General Meeting of GARD

On 23-24 September 2011 in Warsaw will be held the General Meeting of the Global Alliance against Respiratory Diseases (GARD). GARD is a response of World Health Organization (WHO) on the growing problem of respiratory diseases.

GARD was established in 2006 by cooperation of the institutions and organizations in the sphere of the wider fight against respiratory diseases - one of the founding members of GARD is the Polish Society of Allergology. The purpose of this organization is to develop a strategy to prevent respiratory diseases that can be used in every country.

One of the initiatives that the Polish Society of Allergology organized in cooperation with GARD is the General Meeting of GARD with representatives of European Union countries, representatives of the European Commission and the national offices of WHO. Polish Society of Allergology will host this prestigious Conference. Its purpose is to present and discuss the problem of chronic respiratory diseases, present the program of treatment of chronic respiratory diseases, discuss the adaptation and implementation of this program in the European Union. During the Conference will be presented national programs and initiatives dedicated to the fight against chronic respiratory diseases (ECAP and the GATS, POLASTMA program and other achievements). One of the objectives of the Conference will be to develop an official document which will be presented at meetings of the Public Health Working Group in the period of Poland's presidency of the EU Council.

PTA wants also to create a platform for international cooperation with EU countries to implement programs devoted to early diagnostic, prevention and monitoring of non-inflammatory diseases of the respiratory system, using GARD plan for national health policies. The conference will serve as a tool to find and implement the most effective treatments for chronic respiratory diseases.

GARD Conference is affiliated with the conference devoted to the Polish presidency of respiratory diseases, which takes place on 21-22 September 2011. With this arrangement of terms can be present achievements of the Polish presidency on the global forum. This is all the more important that it will promote Polish achievements while pursuing the practice adopted in the direction of cooperation between EU member states and the WHO.

Current challenges in the fight against chronic respiratory diseases need for joint international action to reduce the negative - health, social and economic - the impact of these diseases. Very important is the fact that by such conferences is increasing the role and importance of Polish as a leader and coordinator of these activities.