A global disease, still underestimated

World Asthma Day, observed every year on the first Tuesday of May, is more than a symbolic date for the global health community.

Asthma is the most common chronic disease among children and affects people of all ages: in 2019, it impacted an estimated 262 million individuals worldwide, causing over 455,000 deaths. Numbers that, on their own, speak to the urgency of an unresolved problem. That’s why the Global Initiative for Asthma (GINA) has placed at the heart of the 2026 theme: “Access to anti-inflammatory inhalers for everyone with asthma – still an urgent need”.

The 2026 theme: why “still” makes all the difference

The word “still” is not incidental. GINA has long called for ensuring that every person with asthma can access the inhaled medications needed to control the disease and prevent acute attacks. Yet turning this goal into reality remains one of the biggest challenges.
Inhaled corticosteroids are widely recognized as the cornerstone of asthma management. Unlike short-acting bronchodilators, which only relieve immediate bronchoconstriction, they treat the underlying inflammation that drives the disease.

Ideally, these medications are delivered in combination with a long-acting beta-agonist in a single device. However, their availability remains profoundly unequal. In low and middle-income countries, steroid-containing inhalers were available in barely one third of primary healthcare facilities.

A question of Equity beyond the science

The gap in asthma care is not merely geographic. Even in high-income countries, barriers to accessing essential therapies – whether systemic, logistical, or related to healthcare infrastructure – continue to affect disease control and contribute to avoidable mortality. This is where the clinical dimension meets political and industrial responsibility.

Governments, health policymakers, and the pharmaceutical industry are all called upon to work together to ensure that inhaled corticosteroids are consistently available and accessible across the world. Without this, international guidelines risk remaining a privilege reserved only for those who can reach them.

Menarini’s commitment to respiratory health

The Menarini Group has been a long-standing reference point in the respiratory and allergy field, with a commitment spanning both research and the development of therapeutic solutions for conditions such as asthma and COPD. World Asthma Day 2026 is, in this sense, an opportunity to reaffirm a position that for Menarini goes beyond rhetoric: broadening access to quality care is a core part of the company’s mission. Because breathing freely should never depend on where a patient lives.