6 August 2026
The International Respiratory Coalition (IRC) is pleased to announce that the Hellenic Respiratory Coalition has been awarded an IRC project grant of €50,000 to fund the ‘Mobile Lung Health Unit Project’, an initiative designed to reduce respiratory health inequalities across Greece.
With more than 1.2 million people living with respiratory disease in Greece, and significant disparities in access to care between urban centres and rural, island and underserved communities, the need for targeted action is clear. Since joining the IRC in 2022, the Hellenic Respiratory Coalition has made reducing inequalities and improving access to diagnosis and treatment a central part of its mission. This project puts that commitment into practice.
The initiative will deploy a mobile respiratory health unit to bring services directly to communities where access is most limited. The unit will deliver spirometry, oxygen saturation assessment, lifestyle and risk profiling, clinical counselling and referral support, complemented by community and school-based education and health promotion activities. Respiratory rehabilitation will also be offered through municipality-based programmes and a validated eight-week online pathway.
Beyond direct service delivery, the project will generate structured patient-reported data and document access barriers, feeding into policy dialogue and contributing to the development of a sustainable national respiratory health plan for Greece, aligned with IRC, WHO and EU health priorities.
Reflecting on the award, coalition member, Paraskevi Katsaounou, said:
“We are truly honoured to receive this grant from the IRC and deeply grateful to the committee for their confidence in our work. This funding will allow us to bring respiratory health services directly to the communities across Greece that need them most, and we look forward to showing what is possible when the right support is in place.”
→ Learn about the work of the Hellenic Respiratory Coalition