World Heart Federation
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WORLD HEART FEDERATION ENDORSES RECOMMENDATIONS INCLUDED IN NEW REPORT FROM THE INSTITUTE OF MEDICINE CLAIMING ‘PROFOUND MISMATCH’ BETWEEN RESOURCES AND DISEASE BURDEN

The World Heart Federation welcomes the Institute of Medicine’s (IOM) report “Promoting Cardiovascular Health in the Developing World” launched on 22 March. It concludes that more resources, better policies and a comprehensive approach are needed to slow the rapid spread of non-communicable diseases (NCDs) in developing countries. This is why the work we were carrying out in collaboration with our sister organizations: International Diabetes Federation (IDF), International Union Against Cancer (UICC) and the International Union Against Tuberculosis and Lung Disease (IUATLD) to lead the call to action to integrate NCDs into the global health and development agenda is so urgent.

Increased levels of death, despite 10-years of warnings

The IOM report recognizes that despite nearly 10 years of warnings, NCDs are causing increased levels of death and disability in developing countries, the necessary resources have not followed. The report says that there is now “a profound mismatch between the compelling evidence … and the lack of concrete steps to increase investment.”

Professor Pekka Puska, President of the World Heart Federation emphasised “We need to focus on the risks of heart disease in poor countries just as much as in the developed world, chronic conditions cause more disease and death in the developing world than all infectious diseases put together. We want governments to understand that investing resources to prevent these deaths is an urgent priority that they cannot afford to ignore.”

Taking concrete action

The report also outlines a number of specific, concrete actions that it says must be taken if the situation is to improve and the rapid rise in deaths from cardiovascular and other NCDs including cancer, diabetes and chronic respiratory diseases to be slowed or stopped. The World Heart Federation endorses all 12 recommendations identified in the report and in particular that:

  • Donor governments should “explicitly identify chronic diseases … as an area of focus.” This must also be followed up with funding commitments, based on a better assessment of resource needs.
  • Developing country governments should implement policies – including both laws restricting the sale of harmful goods (such as tobacco) and incentives to the private sector to encourage health-seeking behaviours.
  • Research is needed to identify policies that will work best in developing country settings. Rich countries have more experience fighting chronic diseases but not all of their policies can be transferred.

The IOM report recognizes the World Heart Federation as an important player in the global fight against cardiovascular disease. The World Heart Federation, with its network of 200 member organizations, is working at global, national and local levels to tackle the rise of heart disease and stroke around the world.
To summarise in the words of Dr Valentin Fuster (Chair of the Report Committee and Past President of the World Heart Federation), speaking at the launch of the report “We need to: gain more knowledge, be responsible, work together and incentivise people to get involved. The document has an achievable goal, difficult but doable.”

Further information:

Read the IOM report >

Find out more about our activities with our sister organizations and how you can be involved >

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