Perth Declaration sets 2040 global target to eliminate rheumatic heart disease
The National Heart Foundation of Australia, World Heart Federation and attendees of the Second World Congress on Rheumatic Heart Disease have today launched the Perth Declaration, a global plan to eliminate rheumatic fever and rheumatic heart disease (RHD) as a public health problem by 2040.
The Declaration was endorsed at the Congress’ closing ceremony today in Perth, Western Australia, and finds that the world already knows how to prevent, detect and treat RHD. What is missing is delivery: sustained investment, political commitment and a transfer of authority and resources to the communities most affected.
About 55 million people live with RHD globally and it claims more than 360,000 lives each year. In Australia, registers in five states and territories recorded 11,800 people living with RHD and/or a history of acute rheumatic fever in 2024. Four in five were First Nations people.
The Declaration calls on governments and global partners to:
- Fund national RHD control programmes with long-term, multi-year investment;
- Invest in housing, water and environmental health to prevent the disease;
- Fund Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander community-controlled health organisations to design and deliver programmes;
- Secure a reliable supply of benzathine penicillin G;
- Register every person diagnosed and follow them actively; and
- Agree a regulatory pathway for a Strep A vaccine by 2028 and finance phase 3 trials to start by 2031
Within 12 months, a peer-reviewed technical paper will define the thresholds for elimination. By 2035, the Declaration aims to cut deaths from rheumatic fever and RHD among people under 25 by at least 50 per cent, against a 2025 baseline, in countries with established surveillance.
The journal Global Heart has today published the Declaration to coincide with the closing ceremony for the Second World Congress on Rheumatic Heart Disease. Its signature roll remains open, and ministers, parliamentarians and organisations can endorse it at any time.
Comments attributable to Professor Jagat Narula, President, World Heart Federation
“The Perth Declaration marks the most significant global effort to date to eliminate rheumatic heart disease and save hundreds of thousands of lives each year.
“The World Heart Federation commends the RHD community for producing and endorsing the Declaration, and we implore the governments of countries with RHD to help us take swift and necessary action to eliminate this terrible and unnecessary disease.”
Comments attributable to Professor Derek Chew, Chief Scientific and Medical Officer, Heart Foundation
“It’s time to eliminate rheumatic heart disease once and for all. This is a disease that shouldn’t exist: we know the causes, we know the solutions, we just need commitment and action from world leaders to make it happen. I’m so very proud that this Declaration has been signed and endorsed in Australia by a global team that includes people living with rheumatic heart disease, scientists, healthcare practitioners and policy experts.”
ENDS
Media enquiries
National Heart Foundation Australia
Erin Marie
E: media@heartfoundation.org.au
World Heart Federation
Paula Orrite
E: paula.orrite@worldheart.org
About the World Congress on Rheumatic Heart Disease 2026
From 11–14 November 2026, researchers, clinicians, policymakers, advocates and people with lived experience will gather in Perth, Western Australia, for the second World Congress on Rheumatic Heart Disease where they will share the latest science, build partnerships and drive practical action towards preventing and eliminating RHD.
The Congress is convened by the World Heart Federation and the National Heart Foundation of Australia and made possible by the generous support of:
The Heart Foundation New Zealand, Leducq Foundation, Edwards Lifesciences Foundation, Edwards, American Heart Association, Coefficient Giving, Business Events Australia, Western Australia / Business Events Perth, and the Government of Western Australia Department of Health, in partnership with The Kids Research Institute Australia, REACH and the Pan-African Society of Cardiology (PASCAR).
About the World Heart Federation
The World Heart Federation (WHF) is an umbrella organisation representing the global cardiovascular community, uniting over 200 scientific, medical, patient, and civil society organisations in close to 100 countries. Together with its Members, WHF influences policies, shares knowledge and inspires behaviour change to achieve heart health for everyone. For more information, visit www.worldheart.org
About the Heart Foundation
The Heart Foundation is Australia’s leading advocate for heart health, having worked for more than 65 years to improve the prevention, detection, and treatment of cardiovascular disease. While survival rates have improved, cardiovascular disease remains one of the nation’s biggest killers, claiming around 116 lives in Australia every day. Guided by our vision that heart health will be achievable by everyone in Australia by 2050, we fund high impact research, advocate for heart healthy policies and communities, raise public awareness, and support health professionals through programs and education – work made possible largely through the generosity of our supporters across Australia.