Call for information on implementation of RHD programs:
Share the lessons you have learned!
The World Heart Federation is developing tools for individuals, institutions and countries developing programs to control RHD. We would like to include anecdotes from the real world to illustrate the project and provide an opportunity to share 60 years of global experience. Please:
1. Send grey literature (English or French): unpublished reports, evaluations or descriptions of efforts to control RHD on implementation control from 1962 – 2012
2. Tell us about your experience in an interview (30 minutes) over the phone or Skype. Contact: alice.graingergasser@
If you know someone who is not already receiving these mails and who has experience running a program, please forward the request!
Following up on the World Health Assembly side event on RHD
Panel discussion on RHD prevention and control:The side event on RHD that WHF organized with the governments of South Africa and New Zealand at the World Health Assembly was a big success. The room was full to capacity (60 people), in spite of stiff competition from competing side events on NCDs and a lunch invitation to Pacific Island States. To our knowledge it is the first time in well over a decade that governments of countries where RHD is endemic have gotten together to discuss the disease, and the event was intended basically as a conversation-starter. WHF President, K. Srinath Reddy and incoming VP Kingsley Akinroye skillfully chaired the packed agendafeaturing Hon. Neil Sharma, Fijian Minister of Health, South African Deputy Minister Gwen Malegwale Ramokgopa, New Zealand Director of Public Health Mark Jacobs, Chief Medical Officer of the Australian Department of Health and Ageing Chris Baggoley, and Jean-de-Dieu Ngirabega, Director General Clinical Services in Rwanda. Shanthi Mendis, of the WHO and G. Karthikeyan of All India Institute of Medical Sciences. The web page on the meeting has most of the presentations. Her Excellency Amanda Ellis, New Zealand’s new ambassador to the UN, attended the event.
In addition to the countries on the panel, at least 9 other government delegations attended, most from RHD-endemic countries (e.g. Botswana, Zambia, Tonga, Cook Islands, Papua New Guinea, Sudan and India). Representatives from the Sudanese, Papua New Guinea and Indian delegations spoke from the floor, as did Porfirio Nordet, former director of Cuba’s successful RHD control program and of the WHO RHD control program spoke from the floor about the Cuban experience; and Kate Armstrong of NCD Child highlighted RHD as an NCD of childhood.
Immediate result: RHD Added to the Global Action Plan on NCDs Thanks to the insistence of the South African delegation, with support from several other countries in Africa, mention of RHD was added to the GAP for the first time...in the second paragraph of the plan. This version was subsequently adopted by the WHA. Having RHD mentioned so visibly is a big support for efforts to get RHD integrated into the national NCD plans of countries where the disease remains a problem.
Building on the conversation (Global level): Following the side event, WHF gathered ideas about how to carry the initiative forward. These included: lobby for a process indicator for the GAP (International) and/or make a resolution on RHD at WHA; approach regional/continental bodies to explore possibilities, or regional WHO offices (regional); call national meetings with RHD advocates and different MOH departments to identify possibilities for integrating RHD prevention and control into existing Ministry activities like surveillance, IMCI, school health, antenatal care. WHF (and regional members) are now considering what is feasible. Comments and ideas are welcome.
Follow up at national level: Many of you took advantage of the meeting to make contact with your Ministry and/or country WHO office NCD focal points to talk about RHD: hopefully you can build on that contact to continue a dialogue about RHD in the national NCD plan and any other opportunities that there are to integrate RHD control into existing programs. So far we have heard about RHD being integrated into drafts of the national NCD plans of South Africa, Fiji, Tonga, Cameroon, Nigeria, Rwanda and Sudan.
For these countries and more, discussion for integrating RHD into NCD plans has been a good "hook" for attracting health officials' attention to RHD. If you think it could be in your country, or would want to support materials, let us know (and if you have 5 minutes, fill in the online survey below so that we can get a sense of what kind of support we could provide you: http://www.surveymonkey.com/s/
New tools for advocacy in RHD: In connection with the event the WHF has developed the following new advocacy tools:
• On rheumatic heart disease: global voices (2-page flyer in English) with quotes on RHD from members of this network around the world, namely: Ana Olga Mocumbi, Joseph Mucumbitsi, Nasir Moin, Dejuma Yadeta, Fidelia Bode-Thomas, Samuel Kingue, Sulafa Ali, Prakash Regmi, Toa Fakakoviketau, Diana Lennon, Jonathan Carapetis, Bongani Mayosi, and President Reddy. Thanks to all of you for contributing quotes.
We have also developed some PowerPoint slides with tables from the position paper and are happy to share if you want to use them in presentations (alice.graingergasser@
Participants also received an invitation to participate in the toolkit project (above), and a wide variety of materials on RHD from around the world were put out for them to take. Nearly all materials disappeared: a big thanks to all of you who sent materials. The poster of the abstract presented at ACC on the WHF BPG survey was posted over the sandwiches and generated a lot of interest.
Thanks: The event owed its success to many groups and individuals.
Sponsors: New Zealand and South Africa governments, especially the missions in Geneva who helped organizing. Funders: Medtronic Foundation, Edwards Life Sciences Foundation, Else-Kröner Fresenius Stiftung. Speakers: Named above…they did a great job. Delegations attending and other participants: Especially the ones that offered information. Supporters: NCD Alliance and NCD Child helped promote the event and attended it. Organizer: Emily T Blitz, conference organizer - Emily T Blitz Conference Consulting Media consultant: Joanne Basford (special thanks to Joanne for a great deal of pro bono support over the past years) Graphic design: Swing Communication
Media on the event:
BMJ article: Doctors call for countries to step up the fight against rheumatic heart disease HeartBeat article: Anchoring rheumatic heart disease in the NCD agenda
Continental Cardiology Meetings in Africa
11th PASCAR Congress and 4th All Africa Conference on Heart Disease, Stroke and Diabetes was held in Dakar, Senegal from May 16th – 20th. The program featured a number of presentations on the control and prevention of rheumatic fever and rheumatic heart disease. A downloadable copy of the program is available here >
ECOSOC 2013
NCD Child attended the annual meeting of the United Nations Economic and Social Council and the ITU-IFPMA Ministerial Roundtable Breakfast, 'Mobile Worlds, Mobile Actions -mHealth: The Opportunity for NCDs'. NCD Child representative Duncan Matheka spoke to the organization’s report ‘Young people and NCDs: harnessing the culture of technology”. The report highlights the role of e-health in a number of RHD programs and isdownloadable here >
World Heart Day: Women and children theme makes a good hook for awareness and advocacy around RHD
World Heart Day is September 29, and our member organizations are already busy planning events for the campaign. The theme this year focuses on women and children, and so is a good hook for RHD awareness and advocacy in countries where RHD is endemic. If you are planning a WHD activity related to RHD, please let us know and we will share it here. New advocacy materials above can be helpful.
Through its Hearts of Children campaign with Fréderique Constant, WHF is able to offer its member organizations a high-value watch to use for fundraising for projects related to children and heart disease. If this would be helpful for fundraising for an RHD project, approach your Heart Foundation or Cardiology Society to see if they are members and to see if they are interested in this opportunity.
RHD train-the-trainers course in the South Pacific
As part of the RHD programme in the South Pacific implemented by Menzies School of Health Research and funded by AusAID, representatives from Nauru, Kiribati, Tuvalu, the Solomon Islands and Fiji are meeting in Fiji this month for a train-the-trainers workshop. More information here >
RHD in the News
- New throat swabbing project launched in Auckland, New Zealand > - Joint project between dental and medical services aims to reduce rheumatic fever rates by distributing dental kits in Waikato, New Zealand > - Challenges in management of secondary prophylaxis for RHD in Fiji were outlined in the national newspaper > - Burden of rheumatic fever and rheumatic heart disease covered the The Guardian, Nigeria “Executive Director of the NHF and President elect of the World Heart Federation (WHF), Dr. Kingsley Akinroye, in an exclusive interview with The Guardian alerted on the rise in rheumatic fever and rheumatic heart disease leading to damaged valves and hearts especially in pregnant women” > - Fundraising for heart care at the Mater Heart run in Nairobi, Kenya > - High rates of RF the subject of a feature article in New Zealand’s Sunday newspaper > - Team Heart hosted a screening of a new RHD documentary ‘Hearts of Courage’ in New York on June 11th > - Evaluation of RHD Australia underway – online survey responses from clinicians in Australia can be recorded here > Publications - The new face of rheumatic heart disease in South West Nigeria > - Rheumatic fever & rheumatic heart disease: The last 50 years. > - Streptococcal-vimentin cross-reactive antibodies induce microvascular cardiac endothelial proinflammatory phenotype in Rheumatic Heart Disease - Determinants of poor adherence to secondary antibiotic prophylaxis for rheumatic fever recurrence on Lifou, New Caledonia: a retrospective cohort study
Call for newsbits
Please send us any news about advocacy progress, programs, events, research, press coverage, or anything else that you would like covered. Also, please send any materials (guidelines, educational materials, etc) that would be good for RHDnet to alice- at alice.graingergasser@ |
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