World Lung Foundation Announces Grant from the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation
Wednesday, October 1, 2008
Contact:
Jorge Alday, Public Relations
Manager
World Lung Foundation
jalday@worldlungfoundation.org
phone: +1 (212) 315 8817
Erin Farrell/Colleen
Roche
Linden Alschuler & Kaplan Public
Relations
+1.212.575.4545
efarrell@lakpr.com
Grant Will Support Major International Conference on Lung Health
(New York, NY) World Lung Foundation today announced that it has received a nearly half-million dollar grant from the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation to support a global conference on lung health. Specifically, the $440,000 grant will be used to bring lung health experts from low- and middle-income countries to the 2008 and 2009 Union World Conferences on Lung Health hosted by the International Union Against Tuberculosis and Lung Disease.
The annual Union World Conference addresses how the lung health community can help identify and eliminate the system-related barriers to effective prevention of lung health threats. The conference also strives to put in place the public health measures and medical care needed for those affected by lung disease.
Conference participants – all experts in tuberculosis, tobacco control, asthma, pneumonia and other lung health issues – hail from various nations including India, Mexico, China, Pakistan, and South Africa.
"World
Lung Foundation, through its grant from the
Bill & Melinda Gates
Foundation, will help expand the scope and
depth of the Union World
Conference over the next two years," said Nils
Billo, Executive
Director, International Union Against
Tuberculosis and Lung Disease.
"We are grateful to both organizations for
recognizing the importance
of such an event for preventing and managing
all manner of lung
disease."
"True advances in global public
health
are made when experts come together to share
and learn about their
research and experiences. This is particularly
true of lung health,
which can be significantly improved through
best practices in
coordination of case management, public policy
and medical research,"
said Peter Baldini, Executive Director, World
Lung Foundation. "With
the support from the Bill & Melinda Gates
Foundation, World Lung
Foundation is making such collaboration and
advancements possible on a
global scale."
The 2008 Union World Conference on Lung Health will take place from 16 to 20 October, 2008 in Paris, France. The 2009 event will be held in Mexico City, Mexico.
For more information, please visit: http://www.worldlunghealth.org/Conf2008.
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About
World Lung Foundation
World Lung Foundation is dedicated to improving
global lung health by
improving local capacity to conduct research,
develop public policy and
deliver public health education. The
organization's areas of emphasis
are tuberculosis, HIV/AIDS, asthma, acute
respiratory infections, child
lung health and tobacco control. For more
information, please visit http://www.worldlungfoundation.org.