As we prepare for our 70th anniversary in 2023, we look back on the strides we made throughout 2022 to advance the health and safety of the asthma and allergy community. We are confident these accomplishments will move us forward as we celebrate next year. We are grateful for all we have been able to accomplish with your help.

Because you gave generously, we were able to support, educate, and advocate for the millions of people with asthma and allergies so they can have a better quality of life. Below are some of the ways you helped us fulfill our mission this year.

AAFA’s Commitment to the Allergy and Asthma Community

AAFA is the oldest and largest nonprofit formed to address the unique needs of people with asthma and allergies. We are dedicated to saving lives and reducing the burden of disease for people with asthma and allergies through support, advocacy, education, and research.

In 2022, AAFA updated our brand to embody our mission and values more fully and better represent the people living with asthma and allergies. As part of this update, we updated aafa.org to improve accessibility and support for the people we serve.

Advancing Health Equity

Throughout 2022, AAFA continued to build upon its commitment to reducing health disparities. Thanks to your support, we:

• Launched the new Health Equity Advancement and Leadership (HEAL) program on May 3, to address findings from AAFA’s Asthma Disparities in America report. The HEAL program reinforces AAFA’s commitment to reducing the burden of asthma in communities that bear the heaviest burden of the disease.
  
  
• Announced four HEAL Innovation awards to four asthma programs in Detroit, St. Louis, Los Angeles, and Chicago. Each site is committed to reducing asthma deaths and illness among high-risk populations in their local communities. AAFA provided funding and resources to support each of the four sites.
  
  
• The following CERTIFIED asthma & allergy friendly® donations were also provided to HEAL Innovation program participants:
  • More than 200 Rabbit Air® air cleaners
  • More than 3,000 bottles of Renegade Sweat X Sport Free and Clear laundry detergent
  • 500 Pegasus Home Fashions and Beautyrest® pillows
    
    

• Partnered with AIRnyc to launch the ASTHMA Care Intervention pilot program. This program connects 50 households managing asthma with health education, health care, and social programs. AIRnyc has spent more than two decades developing and refining its community health worker model of care.
  
  

Elevating the Patient Voice

AAFA continued to raise awareness of the needs and interests of the asthma and allergy community. Here are a few examples of our research and advocacy activities in 2022:

• Educated White House Officials, members of Congress, and officials at the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) on clean indoor air and disability justice, as well as asthma disparities and climate change.
  • In August, AAFA met with EPA Administrator Michael Regan to champion clean, safe air for everyone.
  • In October, AAFA participated in the White House Summit on Indoor Air Quality and spoke on the importance of healthy indoor air in schools for children with asthma and allergies.
    
    
• Held our annual Advocacy Action Day to encourage AAFA community members to contact their senators and representatives to share the impact of asthma and allergies and highlight what people with asthma and allergies need to live healthy and full lives.
  
  
• Hosted a Zoom-In on Health Equity so patients and advocates from across the U.S. could let Congress know what policies can help improve the lives of people managing allergic diseases.
  
  
• Advanced several legislative priorities in 2022:
  • Inflation Reduction Act
  • Health Equity and Accountability Act
  • Funding for the National Asthma Control Program
  • Medical Nutrition Equity Act of 2021
    
    
• Shared our top food policy recommendations with the White House for the Conference on Hunger, Nutrition, and Health with the goal of ending hunger and reducing diet-related diseases.
  
  
• Released the Little Airways, Big Voices Voice of the Patient report. The report summed up various patient and caregiver experiences. These stories were shared at a patient-focused drug development meeting on childhood asthma in Sept. 2021. The report was shared with the Food and Drug Administration and other key stakeholders.
  
  
• Released the Voice of the Patient Report: Food Allergies. The report summed up the experiences, impacts, and concerns of patients and caregivers shared during the Sept. 2021 patient-focused drug development meeting on food allergies.
  
  
• Published the 2022 Allergy Capitals™ and 2022 Asthma Capitals™ reports to help people recognize, prevent, and manage asthma and allergy symptoms and understand how where they live may impact their conditions.
  
  
• To help address gaps in child care protections, AAFA partnered with the Elijah-Alavi Foundation (EAF) to publish “Child Care Policies for Food Allergy: Elijah’s Law Report for U.S. States and Territories.” The report encourages state-level policies protecting children with food allergies in child care programs and includes an advocate toolkit.
  
  

Educating and Supporting People Living With Asthma and Allergies

• Redesigned and updated the ASTHMA Care for Adults – Instructor’s Guide for Asthma Educators to align with NHLBI’s 2020 Focused Updates to the Asthma Guidelines. These updates include new My ASTHMA Care books in both English and Spanish.
  
  
• Updated the Asthma Management Education Online course to align with the 2020 Focused Updates to the Asthma Guidelines.
  
  
• Continued to educate patients, caregivers, and health care workers on new asthma guidelines, asthma management, and respiratory illnesses through our Community Health Interventions to Advance Self-Management of Asthma (CHI-ASMA) program.
  
  
• Launched an online support group for military members and families with asthma.
  
  
• Expanded our Ask the Allergist searchable knowledge base with the most common questions people have submitted, along with their responses.
  
  
• Continued to develop and share educational messages on the prevention and treatment of respiratory illnesses, such as COVID-19, flu, and RSV.
  
  
• Collaborated with PlatformQ Health to offer patient and health care provider education on atopic dermatitis, chronic spontaneous urticaria, eosinophilic esophagitis, nasal polyps, and severe asthma.
  
  
• Hosted 31 Days of Action for National Asthma and Allergy Awareness Month that included updated shareable graphics, asthma and food allergy Twitter chat, ”Ask the Expert” community chat, education on asthma and allergy medicine, and our annual Remembrance Day.
  
  
• Developed national public service announcements on Asthma Peak Week, pediatric allergic asthma, and indoor air quality.
  
  
• Provided resources and support to nearly 55,000 people on two online support communities.