The Summit will convene world leaders in cardiovascular health in the heart of global health diplomacy, just ahead of the 77th World Health Assembly.
Summit venue: Biotech Campus, Geneva
WHF
WHF
Health and climate change are inextricably linked: Rising temperatures and poor air quality can worsen cardiovascular and respiratory conditions, while extreme heat can also lead to heat-related illnesses. This opening plenary will focus on:
The perspective from LMICs, that are the most impacted by extreme weather events resulting in negative health outcomes, to amplifyย messaging around the urgency of addressing the climate crisis.
University of Edinburgh
WHO
PHFI
Achieving UHC is essential in addressing the global burden of cardiovascular disease. CVD is a major driver of out-of-pocket health expenditure, leading to poverty and undermining development. This Ministerial panel will showcase examples from countries in different regions that scaled up efforts to achieve UHC, highlighting country strategies to boost financing for NCDs and particularly CVD, discussing challenges experienced in the process, but also demonstrating that it is not an unattainable goal.
Argentina
Cardiovascular disease, including ischemic heart disease, congenital heart disease and RHD, among other conditions, require a comprehensive health system approach to ensure sustainable lifelong care at all levels of the health system, which is integrated with other services or spaces in the community. This session will start discussing common obstacles undermining the management of common CVD, ranging from delayed diagnosis, to missed opportunities for screening, minimal access to therapeutics, interventions and surgeries, lack of long term follow up and care, as well as awareness raising and advocacy. The discussion will focus on:
Examples of how such approaches have been successfully implemented in different contexts and address implementation challenges that may arise when scaling up.
Lebanon
DakshamA Health and Education
Africa CDC
Factors beyond genetics influence the heart health of individuals and communities. The so-called determinants of health include socio-economic condition, individual behaviours, environmental and commercial factors.
This session will discuss:
ESC
Inspire Health Solutions, LLC
The Economist
This debate session will feature two opposing viewpoints on AI deployment in CV health:
The opposing view will instead present the risks that such technologies pose to health care, including issues of ethics and privacy, potential erosion of the patient-provider relationship and the risk that excessive focus on AI might divert resources from other critical aspects of healthcare, as well as their limitations.
American College of Cardiology
REAN Foundation
The growth of virtual platforms has been a blessing and a curse in many respects. While it is tempting to focus on the scourge of fake news, we must recognise that there are other challenges, some as basic as revisiting the importance of speaking about health and equity, of understanding who has the power to influence and change things for the better and meeting them where they are. This session gives WHF, partners, stakeholders, and others much food for thought and the impetus to build on strong foundations.
The connection between CVD and mental health is a critical area of concern and yet remains still inexplored. The aim of this session is to:
Discuss public health policies and strategies for healthcare providers to screen for CVD risk in people experiencing mental health disorders and effectively address the two silent killers.
Kenya NCD Alliance
East Carolina University
Heart and Mind WellBeing Centre
The WHO HEARTS Technical Package serves as a comprehensive guide for improving cardiovascular care. In this session, we will dissect the current state of HEARTS implementation in different regions, highlighting challenges and obstacles, but also examples of success. We will also have a more forward-looking discussion, discussing the evolving landscape of HEARTS and its relevance in the context of technological innovations and how it can stay ahead in the ever-evolving field of cardiovascular health
This session will discuss gender-specific risk factors for CVD, as well as challenges related to diagnostics and treatment approaches that are specific to women.
WomenHeart
The consumption of ultra processed food (UPF) represents a major risk factor for two of the biggest challenges of our times: CVD and climate change. The production of UPF contributes considerably to deforestation and greenhouse gas emissions, as well as water usage. At the same time, regular consumption of UPF has been linked to an increased risk of CVD, due to their unhealthy levels of harmful fats, sodium and added sugars, which may contribute to obesity, high blood pressure and other CVD risk factors.
It will also showcase policies and strategies to decrease UPF consumption and demonstrate their benefits in both reducing CVD and mitigating the impact of climate change.
PAHO
Kingโs College London
The UN HLM on NCDs will be an opportunity for countries to reiterate and strengthen their commitment to addressing the epidemic of NCDs and approve a bolder Political Declaration, based on available evidence. The WHF will take this opportunity to present its advocacy campaign on prioritizing CVD in the 2025 UN HLM on NCDs and delve into the key challenges and priorities for CV health that lie ahead.
The discussion will also unpack strategies, share insights and propose collaborative actions to ensure CV health remains at the forefront of global NCD agendas.
Global Alliance for Tobacco Control
World Diabetes Foundation
University of Bergen
