COPD: Experts seek improved community awareness, early diagnosis

Medical experts have raised the alarm over the rising burden of Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease (COPD) in Nigeria and across Africa, calling for urgent policy reforms, increased community awareness, and improved access to diagnosis and treatment. 

This was the focus at a pre-conference training workshop in Lagos ahead of the Nigerian Thoracic Society (NTS) Annual Congress.

The Lagos workshop is part of Race Africa, a multinational programme raising COPD awareness and training healthcare workers across Nigeria, Burkina Faso, Ethiopia, Rwanda, and Cameroon.

Professor Obianuju Ozo, pulmonologist at the University of Lagos, College of Medicine and the Lagos University Teaching Hospital (LUTH), described COPD as a chronic lung disease that causes persistent shortness of breath, cough, and sputum production.

 She stressed that although common, preventable, and treatable, the disease remains largely under diagnosed in Nigeria.

Ozo explained that risk factors begin even before birth, influenced by what pregnant mothers are exposed to, as well as early-life exposure to indoor smoke, air pollution, traffic fumes, and smoking.

She advocated strong national policies prioritising COPD, including access to spirometry equipment for early diagnosis and the affordability of inhalers.

“Lung function tests are available only in a few tertiary hospitals. Without diagnosis, we cannot treat. Policymakers must make inhalers available and affordable if we want to save lives,” she added.

As a member of the Board of Directors and Science Committee of the Global Initiative on Obstructive Lung Disease (GOLD), Prof. Ozo said she is committed to advocating for COPD patients, many of whom are too ill to speak for themselves.“

Professor Djibril Mohamed, a respiratory physiotherapy specialist from Bayero University Kano, highlighted efforts to develop local, low-cost approaches to pulmonary rehabilitation for indigent patients.

“We are adapting pulmonary rehabilitation using local resources so that patients in poor communities can access care without expensive equipment,” he said.

He added that community health extension workers are also being trained to deliver COPD care at the primary healthcare level.

For many participants, the training offered fresh insight into managing COPD.
Zainab Olanyi, a physical therapist, described the seminar as “very enlightening,” noting that the knowledge would help clinicians better diagnose and manage COPD through structured pulmonary rehabilitation.

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“We work to improve lung function and enhance the quality of life for patients. This training will help us provide better solutions,” she said.