CVD is the second leading cause of death in sub-Saharan Africa
Africa is home to more than 1 billion people and is a major contributor to the global burden of cardiovascular disease.
In 2019, more than 1 million deaths were attributable to CVD in sub-Saharan Africa, which constituted 5.4% of all global CVD-related deaths and 13% of all deaths in Africa.
1M+
More than 1 million people die every year from CVD in Africa
High blood pressure is responsible for more than half of all CVD deaths in Africa
Living with CVD in Africa
Reforming rural healthcare: hypertension in Kenya
The beat of change: rheumatic heart disease in Mozambique
Colours to Save Hearts
RHD is the most commonly acquired heart disease in people under 25
Colours to Save Hearts is an initiative aimed at raising awareness of rheumatic heart disease (RHD) among children, teachers and parents, and educate them about the link between sore throat and rheumatic heart disease, how to recognise symptoms and what to do when they first appear.
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Our Members
Heart Association of Mozambique
Senegalese Society of Cardiology
Uganda Heart Research Foundation
WHF African Summit on Best Practices and Access to Care
The World Heart Federation African Summit on Best Practices and Access to Care was held in Khartoum, Sudan on 10 and 11 October 2017 in collaboration with the Pan African Society of Cardiology, African Heart Network and Sudan Heart Society.
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WHF Board Members win prestigous Alan Pifer Award for their research on women and heart health
WHF Past President Prof Karen Sliwa and Board Member Prof Liesl Zühlke have been awarded the University of Cape Town’s prestigious Alan Pifer Award in recognition of their outstanding work in welfare-related research. A Past President of the World Heart Federation and Chair of the Neglected Cardiovascular Disease group, Prof Sliwa’s scholarship has informed the […]
Women & CVD
Colours to Save Heart engages community leaders in Maputo, Mozambique
Throughout the month of October, our partners in Mozambique organized a series of community outreach activities in the KaMavota neighbourhood of Maputo as part of the Colours to Save Hearts project. The goal of these activities was to raise awareness of rheumatic heart disease (RHD) among community leaders and support educational activities in the local […]
Rheumatic Heart Disease
WHF Roundtables on hypertension in Accra, Ghana
From 31 August to 1 September, the Ghanaian Society of Cardiology (GSC), the Stroke Association Support Network – Ghana (SASNET-Ghana) in partnership with the World Heart Federation, brought together key stakeholders to discuss the barriers to hypertension management in the country and suggest pragmatic solutions to address them. The two-day roundtable discussion, which started in Accra […]
Hypertension
Addressing air pollution in the WHO African region
This is a statement made at the 72nd Session of the World Health Organization RCM for the AFRO Region on Agenda item 13: Updated regional strategy for the management of environmental determinants of human health in the African Region 2022–2032 (Document AFR/RC72/10 and Document AFR/RC72/WP1) The World Heart Federation applauds the introduction of an updated regional strategy […]
Air Pollution
