[Congressional Record Volume 146, Number 53 (Wednesday, May 3, 2000)]
[Senate]
[Pages S3325-S3326]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                         ADDITIONAL STATEMENTS

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                         WORLD ASTHMA DAY 2000

 Mr. DURBIN Mr. President, I rise today to call attention to 
the fact that today May 3, 2000, is World Asthma Day. As some of you 
may know, I am a strong supporter of federal, state, and local efforts 
to create and enhance awareness of asthma and to improve asthma care 
throughout this country and indeed throughout the world. I would also 
like to extend sincere thanks to the many thousands of Americans and 
others who work day after day to try to improve the way asthma is 
diagnosed and treated.
  In the last 15 years, the prevalence of asthma has doubled throughout 
the world. More than 10 percent of children have asthma symptoms, and 
in some countries, as many as 30 percent are affected. In this country, 
asthma ranks among the most common chronic conditions, affecting more 
than 15 million Americans, including 5 million children, and causing 
more than 1.5 million emergency department visits, approximately 
500,000 hospitalizations, and more than 5,500 deaths. The estimated 
direct and indirect monetary costs for this disease totaled $11.3 
billion in 1998, in the United States alone.
  World Asthma Day 2000 is being marked by more than 80 countries 
throughout the world. It is a partnership between health care groups 
and asthma educators organized by the Global Initiative for Asthma, 
GNA, which is a collaboration between the National Heart, Lung, and 
Blood Institute, NHLBI, of the National Institutes of Health and the 
World Health Organization. On this day, thousands of people throughout 
the world will work together to create greater awareness of the need 
for every person with asthma to obtain a timely diagnosis, receive 
appropriate treatment, learn to manage their asthma in partnership with 
a health professional, and reduce exposure to environmental factors 
that make their asthma worse.
  Among those participating in World Asthma Day, via a special World 
Asthma Day Internet site (www.Webvention.org), will be Dr. David 
Satcher, Surgeon General of the United States, and Mr. Nelson Mandela, 
former President of the Republic of South Africa and currently Chairman 
of the South African National Asthma Campaign. Ministers of Health from 
Japan, Turkey, Malaysia and other countries will also be available on 
the Internet to answer questions about how the implementation of 
international asthma treatment guidelines can benefit patients and 
reduce health care costs.
  In the U.S., local World Asthma Day activities are being coordinated 
by the NHLBI's National Asthma Education and Prevention Program and are 
listed on its Web site (www.nhlbi.nih.gov). These activities range from 
local press conferences to school poster contests, and health fairs to 
science museum education programs.
  The NAEPP, along with the National Library of Medicine, Howard 
University, the Office of the Mayor of the District of Columbia, the 
American Lung

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Association of the District of Columbia, and the D.C. public school 
system, will hold the official U.S. press conference to report on the 
state of asthma in the United States and what is being done to combat 
the problem. Invited guests include members of Congress; Olympians who 
have achieved their titles despite their asthma; Washington, DC, 
elementary school students who have asthma; and representatives of 
selected community-based asthma coalitions from across the country. The 
press conference will be Webcast and shown on the World Asthma Day Web 
site.
  Mr. President, it is my hope that our colleagues will join in paying 
tribute to World Asthma Day and to those who suffer from this condition 
and those who are working to help them. It is hoped that with the 
continued support of the Congress, additional progress can be made in 
the efforts to prevent asthma, as well as to improve its diagnosis and 
treatment.

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