Respiratory services in Sierra Leone is currently very challenging as there are no facility or diagnostic tool to assess people experiencing lung problems like Asthma and Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease (COPD) symptoms.

Symptoms of Asthma and COPD are very similar, people who often have them experience breathing difficulties. Asthma affects people of all ages but COPD commonly affects middle-aged and older adults who smoke and various other factors like cooking with firewood, dust and pollution.

(COPD) is an umbrella name for a group of lung conditions that include:

- emphysema – damage to the air sacs in the lungs

- chronic bronchitis – long-term inflammation of the airways

Many people in Africa particularly in Sierra Leone do not realise they have the condition as every diagnosis is often classed as Asthma due to the lack of proper diagnostic equipment. There is a Government established TB service in Sierra Leone but patients with other respiratory illnesses don't have access to other care and support and so their breathing problems tend to get gradually worse over time which can limit everyday activities. Worst of all people experiencing these conditions cannot afford simple inhalers so they end up dying at home which is very sad.

That is why we have registered the first dedicated Lung Health Centre in Sierra Leone where Healthcare professionals can be trained to recognise symptoms of Asthma and COPD so they can accurately diagnose, treat and manage the condition and research into its causative factors and raise awareness within the community.

But we cannot do this without a clinic facility. We have identified a site where we want the clinic to be located but we need to raise £1000 to go towards leasing the clinic building by July 2023 and also register the COPD guideline currently being designed alongside the Ministry of Health and Sanitation as the country does not have one.

Your donation is so vital in establishing this Centre that together we can improve lung health in Sierra Leone. Thank you in advance for your Generosity!

Charity Reg No: 1194481

Website: www.lunghealthcentre.org