anaphylaxis as serious chronic diseases. EFA is also calling on international and national health care policy makers to address early identification of symptoms, early diagnosis and appropriate strategies to manage and control allergies to avoid exacerbations of severe allergies to people at risk, primary care physicians, paediatricians, and pharmacists. Allergy Organization Introduction and Executive Summary Allergic Diseases as a Global Public Health Issue R. Pawankar, GW Canonica, ST.Holgate, RF Lockey Introduction The prevalence of allergic diseases worldwide is rising dramatically in both developed and developing countries. These diseases include asthma; rhinitis; anaphylaxis; drug, food, and insect allergy; eczema; and urticaria (hives) and angioedema. This increase is especially problematic in children, who are bearing the greatest burden of the rising trend which has occurred over the last two decades. In spite of this increase, even in the developed world, services for patients with allergic diseases are fragmented and far from ideal. Very few countries have comprehensive services in this field of medicine. There are almost no specialized services for patients in many countries, other than care delivered by organ-based specialists such as respiratory physicians, ear, nose and throat specialists (otorhinolaryngologists), and dermatologists. While the care provided in many cases is adequate, such specialists generally view allergy only through their organ of interest, while the vast majority of patients have allergic disease in multiple organs. For example, allergic rhinitis, conjunctivitis, and asthma are three problems which commonly manifest together, yet affect three different organ systems. Because the prevalence of allergy has increased to such an extent, allergy must be regarded as a major healthcare problem. According to World Health Organization (WHO) statistics, hundreds of millions of subjects in the world suffer from rhinitis and it is estimated that 300 million have asthma, markedly affecting the quality of life of these individuals and their families, and negatively impacting the socio-economic welfare of society. The provision of allergy care must be led by allergy specialists so that an adequate standard of care is achieved for all patients with these diseases. The lack of such care leads to avoidable morbidity and mortality and to substantial increased and unnecessary cost to health care systems and national budgets. For example, it is estimated by WHO that 250,000 avoidable asthma deaths occur in the world each year. Because so little effort is made to provide clinical services for patients who suffer from allergies, they often seek non-scientifically-based alternative and complementary diagnostic and therapeutic remedies for their ailments. In some countries, patients are repeatedly told that priorities for diagnosis and treatment of allergic disease are determined at the local governmental level, i.e., by “Primary Care Trusts”. However, if representatives at this local level do not understand the prevalence and significance of allergic diseases and their complications, what hope is there for them to choose to provide care for these clinical problems? For example, it is important for a well-trained physician to identify the allergens which cause an allergic disease and to provide patients with the chance to avoid them; the well-trained physician can prescribe appropriate medications, or allergen immunotherapy, a highly effective treatment currently restricted to only a relatively few centres of care throughout the world, despite its proven efficacy. One of the main aspects of good allergy practice is to find the cause and prevent symptoms and disease progression, rather than just rely on medications to suppress the symptoms. The mission of the World Allergy Organization (WAO) is to be a global resource and advocate in the field of allergy, asthma and clinical immunology, advancing excellence in clinical care through education, research and training as a world-wide alliance of allergy and clinical immunology societies. The Organization presently embraces over 84 regional and national allergy, asthma and clinical immunology society members and affiliated organizations (see home page at