The Global Initiative for Asthma (GINA): 25 years later

Abstract

The Global Initiative for Asthma (GINA) was launched in 1993 under the auspices of the National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute, National Institutes of Health, USA, and the World Health Organization to produce a global strategy on asthma management and prevention. Now constituted as a non-profit entity, it continues to produce, on an annual basis, the most widely cited evidence-based report on the optimal management of asthma in both adults and children intended for global use. Although the GINA Report is often viewed and used as an asthma treatment guideline, it is designed to be a clinically oriented strategy document that supports the development of practice guidelines in different countries and regions.

Other GINA products, including the report's pocket guides, teaching slide kits and implementation tools, are also offered free of charge for public use. The GINA Scientific Committee comprises recognised international experts from primary, secondary and tertiary centres of care who are actively involved in both the care of patients and research in asthma. The GINA Assembly is a forum for exchange of scientific information and discussions on initiatives to improve asthma care in various countries, focusing on implementation strategies. GINA plays a role in shaping research on the diagnosis and treatment of asthma and informs the development of point of care practice guides and decision support tools. GINA supports the objectives of raising awareness of asthma and improving access to therapy and quality of care for asthmatic patients, in addition to presenting and promoting continuously updated evidence-based treatment approaches for global use.