Africa’s respiratory “Big Five”

The British Thoracic Society (BTS) launched a Global Health Group in the winter of 2019 in partnership with the Pan African Thoracic Society. This key meeting generated a lot of interest and areas of mutual benefit. Due to the overwhelming interest at the 2019 meeting, a virtual offering of the BTS Winter meeting February 2021, included a symposium by the Global Health Group on Africa’s Respiratory “Big Five.” The Winter meeting was free for PATS members and symposium had an excellent attendance, covering the following areas: Pneumonia in the under 5, impact of air pollution on lung health, post-TB lung disease, and non-communicable respiratory disease across the life course. This paper is a summary of the symposium and seeks to address research priority areas for lung health research on the African continent.