The American Thoracic Society (ATS) mission statement “we help the world breathe” is ambitious and will require the sustained and patient effort of all its members to be actualized. In particular, how relevant is this statement to the low- and middle-income countries that have the greatest disease burden? We are all used to the concept of translational science, well captured in the International Conference tag-line “where today’s science meets tomorrow’s care,” but we are equally aware that translation is a very long process, with technology trickling down from the wealthy to those of the under-served global majority taking even longer. So how can the ATS claim to help the world breathe? The answer to this challenging question lies in the five spheres of influence articulated in the ATS Global Health Agenda...