WHO says it is helping Nepal and Sri Lanka integrate asthma and COPD services into primary health care, with early implementation in Kavre District in Nepal and in Kandy and Kalutara districts in Sri Lanka. The current phase focuses on consultation, service mapping, planning and frontline training.
The World Health Organization says it is supporting efforts to integrate asthma and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease care into primary health care in Nepal and Sri Lanka.
In a departmental update published on May 4, 2026, WHO said the work is being supported by Bloomberg Philanthropies and is moving ahead in Kavre District in Nepal and in Kandy and Kalutara districts in Sri Lanka.
WHO said the current phase includes consultation, service mapping, implementation planning and preparation for frontline health worker training. The goal is to make diagnosis, treatment, follow-up, referral and patient education easier to access closer to communities.
The agency said the rollout is part of broader work on chronic respiratory diseases, a major health burden across the region. It did not provide outcomes from the district pilots yet, and follow-up reporting may clarify when training begins and how quickly the services expand.
For now, the update is a development story about implementation rather than results: WHO is laying the groundwork for primary-care-based asthma and COPD services in two South Asian countries.
Revision note
Initial automated publication.