José Luis Castro appointed as WHO Director-General Special Envoy for Chronic Respiratory Diseases

The World Health Organization (WHO) announced the appointment of  José Luis Castro as WHO Director-General Special Envoy for Chronic Respiratory Diseases.Castro will start his role on September 1,2024. He joins other notable Special Envoys such as Sir Liam Donaldson, WHO Director-General Special Envoy for Patient Safety, and Dr Vanessa Kerry, WHO Director-General Special Envoy for Climate Change and Health.

Castro is completing his tenure as President and CEO of Vital Strategies, a global health organisation he founded and led for 20 years. During his tenure, Vital Strategies grew from a small nonprofit primarily focused on lung health to an organisation with a budget of $ 100 million and a global team of more than 400 people working on global health issues ranging from tobacco control to air quality to overdose prevention and data for health.

WHO’s work on CRD focuses on integrating the diagnosis and management of asthma and COPD into primary health care, while highlighting tobacco smoke, air pollution, and infectious diseases like tuberculosis and pneumonia, as risks to lung health. The appointment of Castro aims to support WHO by spotlighting the significance of respiratory health.

Chronic respiratory diseases (CRD), including asthma and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD), affect nearly half a billion people worldwide. These diseases are major causes of death and disability, with COPD being the third leading cause of death globally. In 2019, 3.2 million people died from COPD and 500 000 from asthma. Despite their significant impact, these diseases have often been overlooked in global health discussions, lacking the necessary recognition and resources.

As Special Envoy, Castro will:

• raise awareness and promote solutions, highlighting chronic respiratory disease issues and support WHO’s strategies to address them;
• engage global and local support, by encouraging cities, countries, and stakeholders to integrate respiratory health into local health policies;
• support WHO initiatives and funding, by promoting WHO’s CRD programme, supporting CRD integration into primary health care, and seeking increased investment from governments and donors; and
• enhance public engagement and advocacy, by collaborating with media, governments, and organisations to raise awareness and spread WHO’s health messages.

Edits made by EH News Bureau