{"id":9567,"date":"2021-10-28T18:09:23","date_gmt":"2021-10-28T16:09:23","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/world-heart-federation.org\/?post_type=news&p=9567"},"modified":"2021-10-29T10:17:06","modified_gmt":"2021-10-29T08:17:06","slug":"addressing-non-communicable-diseases-in-the-western-pacific-region","status":"publish","type":"news","link":"https:\/\/world-heart-federation.org\/news\/addressing-non-communicable-diseases-in-the-western-pacific-region\/","title":{"rendered":"Addressing non-communicable diseases in the Western Pacific Region"},"content":{"rendered":"
This is a statement made at the 72nd<\/strong>\u00a0Session of the WHO Regional Committee for the Western Pacific Region<\/strong> on non-communicable diseases.<\/strong><\/p>\n The World Heart Federation welcomes the attention accorded to NCDs on this year\u2019s agenda,\u00a0and we pledge our support to WPRO\u00a0member states\u00a0to\u00a0rise to the challenge and\u00a0prioritise the prevention and control of NCDs<\/span>\u00a0<\/span>in line with the adopted UN Political Declaration on NCDs.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n As part of the push to achieve this goal,\u00a0we would like to\u00a0draw your attention to the issue of\u00a0rheumatic heart disease,\u00a0or RHD. If we are to step up\u00a0our efforts to tackle the\u00a0NCD burden, we\u00a0cannot ignore\u00a0this\u00a0entirely\u00a0preventable\u00a0disease\u00a0affecting\u00a030<\/span>\u00a0<\/span>million people globally – mostly children and adolescents (1)<\/span>.\u00a0<\/span>RHD\u00a0suffers from an almost\u00a0unbelievable level of\u00a0neglect\u00a0in terms of\u00a0attention\u00a0and funding\u00a0\u2013 despite having a prevalence similar to that of HIV.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span>This is an outrage<\/span>\u00a0–\u00a0<\/span>and we are here today to\u00a0speak for those\u00a030\u00a0million\u00a0patients whose voices\u00a0so far have\u00a0not\u00a0been\u00a0heard.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n RHD\u00a0usually begins in childhood\u00a0with a sore throat\u00a0which, when<\/span>\u00a0<\/span>left\u00a0untreated\u00a0with simple antibiotics,\u00a0can\u00a0lead to\u00a0irreversible heart valve damage<\/span>,\u00a0<\/span>heart failure\u00a0and<\/span>\u00a0<\/span>often death<\/span>.\u00a0<\/span>Those affected\u00a0are too often bound by low-resource settings. They are\u00a0our children and adolescents,\u00a0with a\u00a0female\u00a0predominance.\u00a0RHD<\/span>\u00a0<\/span>often worsens\u00a0during pregnancy –<\/span>\u00a0<\/span>leading to<\/span>\u00a0<\/span>complications and poor birth outcomes (2)<\/span>. The overall impact\u00a0of RHD<\/span>\u00a0<\/span>is devastating\u00a0<\/span>\u2013<\/span>\u00a0in\u00a0young\u00a0lives and quality of life lost.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n At the 2018 World Health Assembly, Member States unanimously adopted a global resolution on rheumatic heart disease.\u00a0Many of you in this room have shown strong leadership in enacting national plans to tackle RHD since the resolution was passed last year. On behalf of all children, adolescents, and patients suffering from Rheumatic heart disease, we thank you for this. But we cannot content ourselves with the status quo. We encourage you all to step up your commitment on this issue, because without tackling RHD, we cannot hope to fulfill our commitments to tackle NCDs or ultimately reach universal health coverage.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n Thank you.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n <\/p>\n (1) https:\/\/apps.who.int\/gb\/ebwha\/pdf_files\/WHA71\/A71_25-en.pdf<\/a><\/p>\n