European projects working together for COPD prevention

On World COPD Day (19 November), we explore how the LungHealth4Life and JARED projects work together to protect lung health across Europe.

What are the projects?

LungHealth4Life (LH4L) is an EU4Health-funded project improving children’s lung health in Portugal, Poland and Hungary. The project works in schools to encourage young people to look after their lungs through education and awareness, identify lung problems earlier through testing, prevent long-term conditions through early detection and treatment, and tackle the inequalities that contribute to lung disease.

The Joint Action on Respiratory Diseases (JARED) project is a major EU collaboration led by Hungary and involving 14 EU Member States, plus Iceland, Ukraine and Moldova. JARED coordinates national efforts to tackle chronic respiratory diseases across Europe. JARED’s main actions include strengthening the prevention of the onset and progression of chronic respiratory diseases, particularly of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD).

Working together for greater impact

Together, LH4L and JARED create a coordinated and sustainable response to chronic respiratory diseases across Europe. Their collaboration works through five key areas:

• Integrating policy frameworks: LH4L’s recommendations feed into JARED’s national respiratory programmes, connecting school-based insights with broader health policy.
• Strengthening prevention: Joint efforts support smoking cessation, air quality monitoring and workplace health initiatives that reduce risk factors for respiratory disease.
• Improving healthcare efficiency: The projects share approaches to lung function screening and best practices for asthma and COPD management.
• Expanding outreach: LH4L’s school-based activities complement JARED’s public health campaigns, reaching people at different stages of life.
• Advancing research: Harmonised data collection on environmental determinants of chronic respiratory diseases strengthens the evidence base for prevention.

How the collaboration works

The partnership between LH4L and JARED is supported through:

• Stakeholder engagement at EU and national levels
• Operational coordination via regular meetings and resource sharing
• Knowledge exchange through joint training and shared platforms

This integrated approach means that prevention efforts in schools connect with national health strategies, creating a comprehensive system for protecting respiratory health.

Learn more:

• LungHealth4Life website
• JARED website