World Asthma Day

World Asthma Day is observed annually on the first Tuesday of May to raise awareness about asthma, improve understanding of the condition, promote effective management, and reduce preventable asthma-related illness and deaths. The campaign highlights the importance of early diagnosis, access to treatment, trigger avoidance, and personalized asthma action plans. 2026 campaign theme focus calls attention to the global disparities in obtaining daily controller medications (like inhaled corticosteroids) rather than over-relying on quick-relief rescue puffers.

The theme focuses on the gap between effective asthma treatment and people's ability to actually obtain and use it. Asthma can be controlled effectively for many people, but lack of access to appropriate anti-inflammatory inhalers can leave the underlying airway inflammation inadequately treated and increase the risk of asthma attacks.

GINA emphasizes that inhaled corticosteroid-containing medicines are essential for most people with asthma and calls on governments, healthcare systems, payers, manufacturers and healthcare professionals to help ensure that these medicines are available, affordable and appropriately prescribed.

The theme therefore moves beyond simply telling people with asthma to "manage their condition." It highlights access to essential medicines as a health-system and health-equity issue.

• Improve access to essential anti-inflammatory asthma medicines
• Increase availability and affordability of inhaled corticosteroid-containing inhalers
• Reduce inequalities in asthma treatment between and within countries
• Improve diagnosis and appropriate treatment of asthma
• Reduce preventable asthma attacks, hospitalizations and deaths
• Ensure people understand the purpose of their different inhalers
• Promote correct inhaler technique and regular review of asthma control
• Reduce inappropriate reliance on reliever-only treatment
• Strengthen asthma care within primary healthcare
• Improve access to asthma medicines in low- and middle-income countries
• Address financial and supply barriers to essential inhaled medicines
• Strengthen asthma education for people with asthma and their families
• Help people recognize worsening asthma and know when to seek urgent care
• Support evidence-based prescribing and asthma-management strategies
• Encourage governments and health systems to treat asthma medicines as essential components of respiratory care

• Asthma
• Asthma control
• Asthma attack
• Airway inflammation
• Bronchoconstriction
• Inhaled corticosteroids (ICS)
• Anti-inflammatory inhalers
• Reliever inhalers
• Controller medicines
• Bronchodilators
• SABA (short-acting beta-2 agonist)
• Inhaler technique
• Asthma action plan
• Asthma diagnosis
• Asthma symptoms
• Wheezing
• Shortness of breath
• Cough
• Chest tightness
• Asthma triggers
• Air pollution
• Tobacco smoke
• Allergens
• Medication adherence
• Essential medicines
• Respiratory health
• Chronic respiratory disease
• Preventable asthma deaths
• Children with asthma
• Peak flow monitoring
• Lung health
• Adult asthma