This statement was delivered by Ms. Fernanda de Carvalho, our Advocacy Committee member for PAHO, at the Seventy-Sixth Session of the WHO Regional Committee for the Americas
SEVENTY-SIXTH SESSION OF THE REGIONAL COMMITTEE FOR THE AMERICAS
AGENDA ITEM 8.1
Honourable Chair,
Distinguished Delegates,
The World Heart Federation commends the World Health Organization and its Member States for their Roadmap. We welcome the opportunity for a new Strategic Plan that aligns with the Sustainable Development Goals, particularly targets 3.4 and 3.a, the Sustainable Health Agenda for the Americas 2018-2030, and the World Health Organization’s Fourteenth General Programme of Work 2025-2028.
We applaud WHO and its Member States for the successful implementation of the Hearts in the Americas initiative and the significant progress made to date. Nonetheless, we urge all governments to maintain and strengthen their commitment to the programme in the next Strategic Plan. In particular, we advocate for a renewed focus on addressing unmet goals, such as improving hypertension control rates, ensuring equity in care, leveraging digital health tools, strengthening the health workforce, enhancing access to medication, and raising public awareness.
We also call on WHO and Member States to ensure that the new plan is developed through a consultative and participatory process that includes all relevant stakeholders, including civil society organizations and people with lived experience, consistent with the WHO Framework for Engagement with Non-State Actors and the WHO Framework for Meaningful Engagement of People Living with Noncommunicable Diseases, Mental Health, and Neurological Conditions.
Thank you.
