{"id":7957,"date":"2021-05-24T12:49:30","date_gmt":"2021-05-24T10:49:30","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/world-heart-federation.org\/?post_type=news&p=7957"},"modified":"2021-05-26T16:29:03","modified_gmt":"2021-05-26T14:29:03","slug":"addressing-circulatory-health-and-covid-19-at-wha74","status":"publish","type":"news","link":"https:\/\/world-heart-federation.org\/news\/addressing-circulatory-health-and-covid-19-at-wha74\/","title":{"rendered":"Addressing circulatory health and COVID-19 at #WHA74"},"content":{"rendered":"

This is a statement made at the 74th session of the World Health Assembly<\/a> on Agenda item 17: <\/strong>Strengthening WHO\u2019s global emergency preparedness and response <\/strong><\/em>by the World Heart Federation, Framework Convention Alliance, International Alliance of Patients\u2019 Organizations, International Atherosclerosis Society, International Diabetes Federation, International Society of Hypertension, International Society of Nephrology, World Hypertension League, and World Stroke Organization, supported by the Global Coalition for Circulatory Health and NCD Alliance.<\/strong><\/p>\n

Honourable Chair,<\/p>\n

Distinguished Delegates,<\/p>\n

The World Heart Federation, Framework Convention Alliance, International Alliance of Patients\u2019 Organizations, International Atherosclerosis Society, International Diabetes Federation, International Society of Hypertension, International Society of Nephrology, World Hypertension League, and World Stroke Organization, supported by the Global Coalition for Circulatory Health and NCD Alliance, thank you for this opportunity to jointly address the World Health Assembly on one of the most critical subjects of our time.<\/p>\n

The COVID-19 pandemic has taken an incalculable toll on the mental, fiscal, and of course physical health of our societies. This past year has united us in facing a truly global challenge, but it has also exposed deep, enduring fault lines and inequities in the population health and health systems of nearly every country represented here today. The WHO\u2019s pulse surveys have demonstrated that essential services for NCDs and mental health have been heavily disrupted in almost every Member State, but only eighteen of these have reported that NCDs are included in national preparedness and response plans.<\/p>\n

As the chief representatives of the global circulatory health community and patients, we have a unique responsibility to draw your attention to the tsunami of post-pandemic consequences lying in wait. The combined impacts of cardiac complications due to COVID-19 and interruptions to crucial medical interventions and ongoing care for people living with hypertension, diabetes, kidney disease, stroke, and other circulatory conditions \u2013 those most at risk of poor outcomes from COVID-19 \u2013 will almost certainly exacerbate the already huge burden borne by stressed health systems worldwide.<\/p>\n

We therefore implore you, our partners in health, to urgently address the key risk factors and preventative measures that can help fight the hidden \u201csyndemic\u201d of non-communicable, and especially circulatory, diseases and COVID-19. We call on Member States to:<\/p>\n