A new Foundation that will focus on respiratory health awareness and access to treatment has been launched in Lagos State in memory of the late Ojumitunrayo Onaara Olufade, whose family and associates say her death highlighted the urgent need to create awareness on and support patients with asthma and other respiratory diseases in Nigeria.

The initiative, unveiled on Saturday as The Ojumitunrayo Onaara Olufade Foundation, with “Free to Breathe” as its slogan, seeks to promote advocacy, provide medications, and support vulnerable patients living with chronic respiratory conditions.

A respiratory physician at the Lagos University Teaching Hospital (LUTH), Ayoola Olagunju, who attended the launch, described chronic respiratory diseases as one of the leading health challenges globally and in Nigeria.

“We have a high burden of chronic respiratory disease. There is misinformation, there is poor access to treatment, which also worsens the burden,” she said.

The pulmonologist said the condition of asthma causes inflamed and narrowed airways that make breathing difficult and can be triggered by dust, smoke, and allergens.

“It’s a disease that is very treatable, and nobody should lose their life to asthma. Asthma deaths are very preventable,” she further stated.

Olagunju welcomed the Foundation, saying it could help improve awareness, reduce stigma, and expand access to medicines for patients.

Also speaking at the launch, a member of the Board of Trustees and brother of the deceased, Demilade Olufade, said the Foundation was created in honour of his sister, who passed on last year as a result of asthma.

According to Olufade, the organisation aims to deepen awareness around diseases such as asthma, bronchitis, and lung cancer, while also supporting access to treatment for patients who often struggle to afford medications.

Olufade added that the Foundation plans to partner with primary healthcare centres to distribute medications and support respiratory disease patients.

Similarly, Deputy Managing Director of Mulberry Partners Limited and one of the promoters and trustees of the initiative, Oyewale Odekhiran, said the Foundation was established to immortalise Olufade, who lived with asthma.

“We decided that what better way to immortalise her than setting up a Foundation in her memory,” he said.

Odekhiran noted that although many Nigerians are familiar with asthma, public awareness about the condition remains poor.

He disclosed that the Foundation intends to make May 16 a yearly awareness event and would begin outreach immediately with visits to primary healthcare centres in Ikeja and Oregun to donate medications.

The Foundation’s Legal Adviser and Trustee, Adebola Shobowale, said the circumstances surrounding Olufade’s death might have been prevented with better awareness and emergency support systems.