“Piloting a digital treatment for COPD, the second biggest killer in India (seeking $84K to Sept 2026)” by Oli Munns, Rowan Lund

TL;DR Respira Health are seeking $84k to pilot and begin scaling a virtual treatment program for Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease*, the second leading cause of death in India and fourth globally (3.5 million annual deaths). Our treatment isn’t new, but our delivery model is. Pulmonary Rehabilitation (PR) can cut mortality risk by 9% in just 3 sessions and is a well-evidenced treatment programme for COPD; it combines specialised physiotherapy exercises, education on health habits, and psychological support. PR delivered virtually in high-income countries has been shown to be just as effective as in person, but this is yet to be rolled out in low- and middle-income countries (LMICs) where 90% of deaths occur. We are changing this by delivering PR in India using a WhatsApp chatbot and virtual physiotherapists (think Kaya Guides for respiratory rather than mental health!). We’ve already tested our WhatsApp chatbot approach in India. After thorough research and 30 hours of interviews with patients and healthcare professionals in India, we ran our first proof of concept test: we launched a short education program on the main symptom of COPD, breathlessness, using a WhatsApp chatbot. With hospital referrals and Facebook ads, over 140 breathless individuals in our target demographic signed up, demonstrating [...] --- First published: November 16th, 2025 Source: https://forum.effectivealtruism.org/posts/D59GPfsNWHDayPe2c/piloting-a-digital-treatment-for-copd-the-second-biggest --- Narrated by TYPE III AUDIO. ---Images from the article:Apple Podcasts and Spotify do not show images in the episode description. Try Pocket Casts, or another podcast app.