By Joke Kujenya
EVERYDAY LIFE is silently disrupted for millions who unknowingly struggle with a chronic respiratory illness that, despite its global prevalence, remains woefully under-recognised and untreated, according to a report by the World Health Organisation (WHO).
This condition, which narrows the airways and inflames the lungs, triggers a cocktail of symptoms—persistent coughing, wheezing, chest tightness and shortness of breath.
Though manageable, the WHO report notes, its impact can be devastating when left unaddressed.
Symptoms often flare up unpredictably—at night, during physical activity, or in response to triggers like dust, cigarette smoke, air pollution, pollen or pet dander.
While the severity varies, those affected can experience sleep disturbance, daytime fatigue, school or work absenteeism, and in the worst cases, hospitalisation or death.
As of now, WHO estimates that 262 million people worldwide live with asthma, and nearly half a million died from it in 2019.
The burden is heaviest in low- and middle-income countries, where underdiagnosis and under-treatment remain rampant.
In Nigeria, stigma, inadequate access to diagnostic tools, and poor public awareness leave many sufferers navigating their symptoms blindly.
Chidinma is just 12 years of age. She resides with her mother, Nkechi around Ipaja area of Lagos. Speaking with JKNewsMedia, Nkechi said she has often thought her daughter was just a sickly child.
“She coughs all the time especially when it’s cold or when she runs around with her peers. “We’ve tried antibiotics, malaria drugs, even prayer houses.”
The cough worsens at night, and sometimes Chidinma wakes up gasping.
Nkechi said they’ve not been able to see a specialist, only local chemists. It wasn’t until a school medical outreach mentioned the word “asthma” that she began to question what had plagued her daughter for years.
Still, without a formal diagnosis or access to an inhaler, little Chidinma lives in limbo.
Unexpected Triggers
The triggers are everywhere—smoke from open fires, Lagos traffic fumes, dusty harmattan air, windy rainstorms, and even common colds.
Yet, many continue without formal diagnosis, normalising their suffering as just “weak lungs” or recurring chest infections.
Like Chidinma, many children often bear the brunt disproportionately.
Explaining Asthma
Asthma stands as the most common chronic disease among children globally. Yet for many families, the signs are easily mistaken for occasional colds or allergic reactions. As a result, millions go without a diagnosis or receive one too late. In 2019 alone, the condition affected an estimated 262 million people and caused 455,000 deaths—numbers largely preventable with timely intervention and access to proper treatment.
Risks and the Urban Reality
Lady Bose as she is fondly called is 39 years of age resident of Lagos is seriously concerned about her inexplainable health issue.
Navigating daily within the chaotic rhythm of Lagos life, Bose manages a food stall near Oshodi.
She’s constantly exposed to vehicle exhaust and smoke from her charcoal stove.
For over a decade, she’s lived with what she calls “my stubborn cough,” as she shares her pains with JKNewsMedia in her small stall.
“It worsens during harmattan and after heavy traffic days. “Sometimes I can’t breathe well, like air is not enough,” she confesses.
Still, she dismisses it as she narrated.
“People will laugh if I say I have asthma. They’ll think I’m pretending. That is why I have not been to a clinic for respiratory care because I don’t know if I can afford the cost of treatment, she said.
Other Factors
While genetic factors play a role—particularly in families with a history of asthma or allergic conditions—urbanisation and modern lifestyles contribute significantly, WHO notes.
Children born with low birth weight, those exposed early to air pollutants or tobacco smoke, or those with frequent respiratory infections face a heightened risk.
Also, overcrowded urban areas, poor air quality, and lack of awareness compound the problem, especially in low- and middle-income countries where access to healthcare is limited.
However, environmental triggers are difficult to avoid, particularly for those living in polluted or densely populated environments, like Lagos in Nigeria.
Even basic irritants such as strong perfumes, cleaning products, or cold air can provoke an asthma attack, yet the tools to manage the disease remain out of reach for many.
Isaac is 27 and resides in Dopemu area of Lagos. He works at a paint factory where he said they cannot avoid inhaling chemical fumes daily.
He told JKNewsMedia that he has been working with the modest company for five years.
“I have been battling tightness in my chest,” he said. “It often comes with wheezing, and fatigue that usually makes my boss to send me home earlier than my colleagues.
“I thought it was just stress or bad air. My chest always feels like something heavy is on it.”
Asked if he has tried to see a doctor and lodged a complaint about the issue, his reply was negative.
Rather, he said he has been relying on herbal mixtures and cough syrups.
Again, like others, the notion that he might have asthma had never crossed his mind—until a colleague collapsed from a similar episode and was diagnosed in hospital. “I wonder if that’s what I have too,” he says, wide-eyed with uneasy smiles on his face.
Treatment Gaps and a Global Health Imperative
Despite no cure, WHO says asthma can be managed effectively with inhaled medications — with two primary types of inhalers being bronchodilators that relieve symptoms and steroid inhalers that reduce inflammation saying that both can restore normalcy to a patient’s life.
But access remains patchy.
In 2021, only half of low- and lower-middle-income countries provided bronchodilators in public primary care, and just a third stocked steroid inhalers.
The world health body also notes that simple solutions like using a spacer device with an inhaler—often made at home from a plastic bottle—can vastly improve drug delivery, especially for children. Yet even these innovations are not widely adopted due to lack of awareness and resources.
How To Empower Asthma Patients
Education plays a critical role.
People living with asthma, and their families, need to understand their triggers, treatment options and how to respond when symptoms worsen.
Action plans provided by healthcare professionals can help patients manage their condition proactively and reduce emergency visits.
WHO says it will continue to prioritise asthma as part of its global strategy to combat noncommunicable diseases.
Through initiatives like the Global Action Plan and the Package of Essential Noncommunicable Disease Interventions (PEN), WHO also said it is working to close the diagnosis and treatment gap, particularly in resource-limited settings.
“Asthma may not be curable, but it is controllable. For millions silently living with the condition, awareness and early action could mean the difference between a restricted life and a full, active one,” WHO insists.
Hidden Struggles of Undiagnosed Asthma
As asthma continues to affect millions of people worldwide, yet its diagnosis remains elusive in many communities across Nigeria.
It has been and remains a chronic respiratory condition that inflames and narrows the airways, asthma presents through recurring symptoms such as wheezing, persistent coughing, chest tightness, and shortness of breath.
Also. despite massive medical development across the globe, the disease does not manifest the same way in every person, which complicates timely recognition.
It symptoms may appear intermittently, worsen at night or during physical exertion, or mimic other conditions such as respiratory infections, allergies, or even malaria.
