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

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.
Competing Interests: Conflict of interest: L-P. Boulet reports the following: research grants for participation in multicentre studies from AstraZeneca, Boston Scientific, GlaxoSmithKline, Hoffman La Roche, Novartis, Ono Pharma, Sanofi and Takeda; support for research projects introduced by the investigator from AstraZeneca, Boehringer Ingelheim, GlaxoSmithKline, Merck and Takeda; consulting fees and advisory board membership for AstraZeneca, Novartis and Methapharm; royalties as co-author of “Up-To-Date” (occupational asthma); non-profit grants for the production of educational materials from AstraZeneca, Boehringer Ingelheim, GlaxoSmithKline, Merck Frosst and Novartis; conference fees from AstraZeneca, GlaxoSmithKline, Merck and Novartis; and support for participation in conferences and meetings from Novartis and Takeda. He is the past president and a member of the Canadian Thoracic Society Respiratory Guidelines Committee and Chair of the Board of Directors of the Global Initiative for Asthma (GINA). Conflict of interest: H. Reddel reports grants and personal fees from AstraZeneca and Novartis; grants, personal fees and non-financial support from GlaxoSmithKline; and personal fees from Merck, Teva, Mundipharma and Boehringer Ingelheim; outside the submitted work. She is Chair of the GINA Scientific Committee. Conflict of interest: E. Bateman is a member of the Science Committee and Board of GINA. He reports personal fees from Novartis, Cipla, Vectura, Menarini, ALK, ICON, Sanofi Regeneron, Boehringer Ingelheim and AstraZeneca, and grants from GlaxoSmithKline, Hoffmann le Roche, Sanofi-Aventis, Novartis, AstraZeneca and Teva, outside the submitted work. Conflict of interest: S. Pedersen reports personal fees from AstraZeneca, ALK and Thermo Fisher, outside the submitted work. Conflict of interest: J.M. FitzGerald reports personal fees for advisory board membership from GSK, AstraZeneca, Boehringer Ingelheim, Novartis, Pfizer, Sanofi-Regeneron and Theravance, peer-reviewed funding from CIHR, AllerGen and BC Lung Association, research funding from GSK, AstraZeneca, Amgen, Sanofi-Regeneron and Novarits, all paid directly to UBC; and is a member of the steering committee for the International Severe Asthma Registry and PI for the Canadian Severe Asthma Registry, and a member of the GINA Science and Executive Committees. Conflict of interest: P.M. O'Byrne has received consultancy fees from AstraZeneca, GSK and Chiesi; has received grants/patents pending from AstraZeneca, Genetech and Novartis; and is a board member for the Joint Oversight Board for LABA safety study.
(Copyright ©ERS 2019.)