International collaborations

The Global Initiative for Asthma (GINA) was established in 1993 and works to reduce asthma prevalence, morbidity, and mortality globally by working closely with health care professionals, patient representatives, and public health officials around the world.

Professor Richard Beasley (Foundation Respiratory Advisory Board Member, and Director and Founder of Medical Research Institute of New Zealand) and Ms Letitia Harding (Foundation Chief Executive) are the GINA advocates for Oceania.

GINA advocates comprise of 54 international leaders and patient representatives in the field of asthma from all continents.

GINA advocates are responsible for actively disseminating GINA strategy documents accurately and fostering its implementation (plans and actions to be reported annually to GINA Dissemination Task Group), attending GINA meetings annually, and providing feedback on the GINA Report to the GINA Science Committee.

New Zealand is part of the Global Asthma Network (GAN) which uses the Foundation's NZ Adolescent and Adult Asthma Guidelines and Respiratory Impact Report to highlight the burden and determinants of asthma in New Zealand.

The Global Alliance Against Chronic Respiratory Disease (GARD) launched in 2006 and is a voluntary global collective of respiratory organisations operating in connection with the World Health Organization (WHO) to improve respiratory health outcomes worldwide.

Foundation Chief Executive Ms Letitia Harding has held the following roles at GARD: Co-Chair of the Western-Pacific Region, where she coordinated chronic respiratory disease strategy and advocacy across Asia Pacific; and Chair of the Patient Focal Group Planning Committee, where she ensured patient-centred insights drove GARD's global planning.

Foundation Chief Executive Ms Letitia Harding is part of The World Health Organization (WHO) Guidelines Development Group (GDG) for asthma, which develops evidence-based recommendations, incorporating multidisciplinary expertise and lived-experience perspectives, to manage asthma as a chronic condition. This group focuses on improving asthma care through practical, evidence-based guidance, including the management of asthma in children and adults.

The Asian Pacific Society of Cardiology (APSC) is a partner of Foundation's Coronary Intravascular Imaging Certification Course. This imaging course is held annually, providing interventional cardiologists a unique opportunity to develop expertise in intravascular imaging, and apply these skills in a case-based format under expert supervision. The Faculty of this course are world leaders in cardiology from New Zealand, Hong Kong, Australia and Singapore.

The Transcontinental Coronary Imaging and Physiology Club (TCIP) is a specialised cardiovascular group collaborating with the Asian Pacific Society of Cardiology (APSC) and regional partners, like the Foundation, to provide advanced training in intravascular imaging (IVUS/OCT) and coronary physiology for interventional cardiologists.