Project media

Pulmonary rehabilitation in Kyrgyzstan

See how experts from the University of Plymouth are helping to combat the increasing epidemic of lung disease caused by polluted air, tobacco use and indoor and outdoor pollution in Kyrgyzstan, under the FRESH AIR project.

Across the world, Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease (COPD), drug-resistant tuberculosis and pneumonia are major causes of permanent lung damage, which is leading to a high mortality rate in many poor countries.

Through pulmonary rehabilitation, which includes exercise programmes, music, dance and collaborative projects, people are beginning to better understand and overcome their lung-related health issues.

Photo reporting of pulmonary rehabilitation 

Creative Associate and photojournalist Carey Marks accompanied the team on a visit to Kyrgyzstan. The purpose of this visit was to assess the implementation of pulmonary rehabilitation in Kyrgyzstan and consider its cultural adaptation to main hospitals and other locations. 

Midwife-led lung health education project in Uganda

“This is a huge-scale problem in Africa. Most people are exposed to biomass smoke throughout their life. In our earlier studies, we showed that one in eight adults were suffering from chronic lung disease.” – Dr Rupert Jones

A midwife-led education programme in the Jinja district of Uganda, aiming to teach midwives and other community healthcare workers about the dangers of biomass smoke and about reducing the risks to mother, foetus and young children.

The Breathe Again Africa Project

A crowd-funded project to build a pulmonary rehabilitation centre in Kampala to treat people with chronic lung disease without using drugs.

Find out more about the project and how you can support a life-giving programme today.

Preventing Lung Disease in Rural Uganda – A Train the Trainer Programme

“I think the most important thing is that they should be owner of their problem and understand their problem, awareness and look for a solution and we will help them.” – Dr Frederik van Gemert

Download education material developed

Pulmonary rehabilitation in Uganda

“Our patients are very excited about the programme, they love it so much, especially after the improvements they have seen in the first few sessions. They don’t want to stop, they want to continue coming and they are feeling so much better.” – Dr Wincey Katagira

The preceding pilot study and this film were funded by the International Primary Care Respiratory Group.