Reflections on the 24^th ESSB/4^th PATS combined conference in Cairo, Egypt

The 4^th Biennial Pan African Thoracic Society (PATS) and 24^th Regional Annual Assembly of the Egyptian Scientific Society of Bronchology (ESSB) combined conference was held in Cairo, Egypt, between December 3^rd and 5^th, 2025 [Figures 1-8]. This was the first occasion that a Pan African Thoracic Society (PATS) conference was held in Northern Africa. The motto of the congress, “From Cairo to the continent: Advancing thoracic care across Africa,” reflected the shared purpose of the joint societies of strengthening respiratory health across Africa and, indeed, leading together in many areas globally. The conference was successful in sharing knowledge throughout Africa and creating long-lasting partnerships between societies across the continent.

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Figure 1:

Prof. Obianuju Ozoh -PATS President.

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Figure 2:

Some PATS Exco members and friends.

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Figure 3:

Dr. Rebecca Nantanda - PATS speaker.

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Figure 4:

Some of the PATS congregation.

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Figure 5:

Prof. Elizabeth Maleche-Obimbo.

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Figure 6:

Prof. Mohamed Hantira, Prof. Charl Verwey, Prof. Tarek Safwat and Prof. Ashraf Madkour.

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Figure 7:

Prof. Mohamed Hantira, Prof. Diane Gray, Prof. Tarek Safwat and Prof. Ashraf Madkour.

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Figure 8:

Prof. Mohamed Hantira, Prof. Refiloe Masekela, Prof. Tarek Safwat and Prof. Ashraf Madkour.

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The conference spanned 3 days, with pre-congress workshops (interventional bronchoscopy, sleep medicine, lung function: Spirometry and oscillometry) and a main conference scientific program divided into three tracks: Adult pulmonology, pediatric pulmonology, and thoracic surgery. A further attraction was the hosting of the European Respiratory Society (ERS), Harmonised Education in Respiratory Medicine for European Specialists (HERMES) examination in adult respiratory medicine, for African delegates at the congress, providing convenient access to this internationally recognized assessment.

Hundreds of delegates, from multiple African countries and all African regions, came together at the congress, with further representation from leadership of the ERS and the American Thoracic Society (ATS), a reflection of the international recognition that is afforded to the PATS conferences and the commitment of the international leaders to work together in addressing global respiratory health priorities.

In this special edition of the Journal PATS (JPATS), we discuss highlights from the abstracts presented at the congress. In total, sixty abstracts were accepted by the congress: Thirty-five pediatric pulmonology, twenty-three adult pulmonology, and six thoracic.

The majority of abstracts deal with context-specific African themes, presenting data and information focused on African health priorities and applying local solutions to these.

A number of abstracts investigate the scope of some of the challenges that we encounter in Africa: A shortage of knowledge or education around common respiratory diseases. Ouédraogo et al. reported data from five Sub-Saharan countries on the awareness of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) among African adults.^[1] The conclusion that only 26% of participants had heard of COPD, and 7.3% were aware that tobacco smoke was a risk factor for COPD, is very worrying.

Further on this theme, Nweke et al. described the attitudes, technique awareness, and barriers to inhaler use in asthma care among nursing and medical students in Nigeria. They reported that only 26% demonstrated good awareness of inhaler technique, and worryingly, only 12% exhibited a favorable attitude toward inhaler use for asthma.^[2] Reasons for these barriers to care were given, with device cost and personal feelings of embarrassment leading the way. These studies highlight the urgent need for large-scale respiratory health education across the continent, with a focus on improving the quality of current education in many places. The improvement of knowledge around such common problems could yield large returns for relatively small investments.

Marangu-Boore et al. attempted another approach to improve healthcare across the continent, through the introduction and feasibility testing of known diagnostic modalities in areas where they have not previously been available.^[3] They describe that it is feasible to introduce cystic fibrosis (CF) testing through the nanoduct sweat conductivity system in Nairobi, Kenya.

Further steps in improving management of specific conditions that have previously been neglected in Africa, such as CF, have been taken by Wordui and the team from Ghana, who describe the establishment of a CF multidisciplinary case conference group, expanding expert assistance to those with rare conditions across the area.^[4] Otido et al. reported on the shorter duration of admission for pediatric empyema when pig-tail catheters are used instead of rigid tubes, potentially providing a possible decrease in medical costs and improved care for the patients.^[5]

Another aspect of improving care for respiratory patients across Africa is by generating local data on local respiratory illnesses, rather than extrapolating data from other regions around the world. Examples here are Kitenge et al., who reaffirmed the relationship between the mining industry and the prevalence of tuberculosis (TB) in the democratic republic of Congo,^[6] Nweke et al.^[7] who describe the inherent dangers of vaping and shisha usage among young adults in southeastern Nigeria and Nantanda et al. who described the health effects of air pollution among children in East Africa.^[8]

There has been a sharp increase in pulmonary function data coming out of Africa and other low- and middle-income (LMIC) regions, describing feasibility and providing important global data on the pulmonary effects of harmful exposures and various diseases on the pulmonary development across the life course. Dongol et al. described the successful introduction of infant pulmonary function testing in the LMIC region of Nepal.^[9] Maleche-Obimbo et al.^[10] described the devastating effects of human immunodeficiency virus on lung function of children and adolescents living in Kenya, while Kagimu et al. and Bajaber et al.^[11,12] described post-TB lung disease in children from Uganda and Kenya, respectively, and Marozva et al.^[13] described novel trajectories of bronchodilator responsiveness from birth through 5 years in a South African birth cohort.

Finally, and very importantly, Ndimande reported on the economic impact of pediatric asthma on households in Sub-Saharan Africa, concluding that the costs of asthma are substantial and can have a catastrophic impact on families, reaffirming the importance of finding ways to address this disease in Africa.^[14]

Respiratory care has come a long way in Africa, although there is still a vast amount of work to be done. Partnerships like the PATS/ESSB joint congress, support from international societies, like the ERS and ATS, and the growth of high quality African respiratory journals, such as JPATS, continue to nurture and grow African Health care providers, clinical scientists and leaders. These will ensure that respiratory health across Africa is kept center stage and constituently strengthened and that lessons learned contribute to the global pool of respiratory health care.