[MALAYSIA] – Royal Philips (NYSE: PHG, AEX: PHIA), a global leader in health technology, has launched a global initiative to celebrate everyday wins by patients, providers and caretakers regarding the management of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD). Launched on World COPD Day, this awareness and celebratory campaign aims to inspire COPD patients and their caregivers on ways to improve their overall quality of life.
COPD is a progressive, life-threatening disease that is estimated to affect more than 251 million people globally and is estimated to be the third leading cause of death by 20201,2. In Asia Pacific, an estimated 56.6 million are afflicted with moderate to severe COPD3. Despite the number of people impacted by this disease, there is limited awareness and a stigma associated with the disease, and once patients receive the diagnosis, they often don’t know how to overcome the shock of the disease.
COPD is significantly underdiagnosed worldwide including in Malaysia. The WHO has highlighted that COPD is likely to increase in the coming years due to higher smoking prevalence and aging populations in many countries4. It is important to pay attention to this trend as Malaysia is an aging nation with a significant number of smokers, estimated at 5 million currently5,6. In the past decade, it was estimated that there were approximately 448,000 cases of moderate to severe COPD in Malaysia7. This number may hit more than 1.25 million cases in the coming years, as at least a quarter of smokers are expected to develop significant COPD8.