This is a statement made by the World Heart Federation at the WHO Executive Board Meeting (EB154) on Agenda Item 7: Follow-up to the political declaration of the third high-level meeting of the General Assembly on the prevention and control of non-communicable diseases.
We welcome the Secretariat report and note with deep concern that progress towards achieving SDG 3.4 has slowed since 2015. While being largely preventable, NCDs and cardiovascular disease are responsible for 74% of deaths globally, mostly occurring in LMICs. We cannot afford the cost of inaction. As the global community prepares for the 4th HLM on NCDs in 2025, we urge Member States to:
- Draw on the guidance in Appendix 3 of the WHO Global NCD Action Plan to ensure implementation of cost-effective policies and interventions to address CVD, and are included in national health benefit packages;
- Increase national investment in prevention, diagnosis, treatment and care for NCDs and particularly CVD; and finally
- Redirect funding towards strengthening Primary Care to ensure the provision of services for CVD care;
WHF will continue to collaborate with the WHO and Member States to ensure the implementation of policies to address the burden of CVD.
