Tanya Hall

Two years ago, I joined the World Heart Federation Board because of my lifelong, deeply personal commitment to improving the lives of those affected by heart disease. I was born with congenital heart disease and have lived with it all my life, and I lost my father to heart failure at 59, experiences that give me an intimate understanding of what patients and families carry every day. That commitment has not lessened over my first term; if anything, serving on the Board has sharpened my sense of what still needs to be done. It is this commitment that compels me to stand for a second term.

During my tenure I have served on the Membership and Advocacy Committees and contributed significantly to the recent Congenital Heart Disease report, for which ten interviews were conducted, across nine countries spanning high, middle, and low income settings. These interviews were not gathered simply for impact; they are evidence of what is happening beyond the clinical data. When lived experience is included, it brings into view realities that numbers alone cannot capture – it changes how we define the problem, what we prioritise, and how we respond. Without it, we see only part of the picture, and the systems we design will miss what matters most.

This conviction is why I proposed, and am now in the process of establishing, a Lived Experience Expert Group for the WHF Board. Better health outcomes are achieved through a culture where people with lived experience are actively recognised and engaged as equal, knowledgeable partners in developing policy and implementing the decisions that affect them. The Group represents a shift in foundational practice, consistent with global best practice, and reinforces WHF’s strategic commitment to person-centred care. Its systematic inclusion across WHF’s processes will strengthen the credibility and impact of the Federation’s mission through each core pillar of advocacy, science, and policy. Reflecting gender and geographical diversity, with particular attention to representation across all six WHO regions, the Group is designed to ensure no single voice or region defines what lived experience means for WHF.

As CEO and founder of Hearts4heart, I lead an organisation dedicated to reducing preventable strokes, deaths, and suffering among heart disease patients, with a mission closely aligned to WHF’s own. Combined with my experience on the Board over the past two years, this has given me a proven track record of turning strategic vision into practical outcomes, and a clear understanding of how to bridge the gap between high-level policy and grassroots patient needs.

I am seeking a second term because the work I have started is only just beginning. I want to see the Lived Experience Expert Group through to a strong, lasting foundation — one that outlasts my time on the Board and ensures people with lived experience remain equal partners in WHF’s work for years to come. I would be honoured to continue serving the Federation and its members in this next chapter.