14 September 2026
The International Respiratory Coalition (IRC) is delighted to welcome the Lung Health Coalition in the Kyrgyz Republic as the newest national coalition, joining a growing network dedicated to improving lung health.
Kyrgyzstan faces a significant respiratory disease burden. Tuberculosis, chronic respiratory diseases, lower respiratory tract infections, lung cancer, and tobacco-related conditions all contribute substantially to morbidity and mortality across the country. Risk factors including air pollution, household biomass fuel exposure, tobacco use, occupational dust, and the country’s high-altitude environment compound the challenge.
The coalition is founded by several organisations with expertise spanning respiratory medicine, cardiology, and the prevention and management of non-communicable diseases. Its early priorities reflect the scale of what needs to change: strengthening prevention and early detection, promoting evidence-based management of respiratory diseases, advancing professional education, empowering patients, and building the research and policy base needed to drive national action.
Coalition member Prof Talant Sooronbaev, of the Kyrgyzstan National Center of Cardiology and Internal Medicine, said:
“Respiratory diseases place a heavy burden on people across Kyrgyzstan. But prevention, early diagnosis, and access to quality care remain major challenges across the country. That is what brought our coalition together. By uniting healthcare professionals, scientific societies, patient organisations, and policymakers under one platform, we aim to drive coordinated national action.
“Joining the IRC gives us access to a network of countries that have faced similar challenges and found ways forward. We look forward to learning from that experience, sharing our own, and working together to improve respiratory health.”
The IRC warmly welcomes the Lung Health Coalition in the Kyrgyz Republic and looks forward to supporting its work towards a future where fewer people in Kyrgyzstan suffer from preventable and treatable lung conditions.
→ Learn more about the national coalitions supported by the IRC