Bloomberg Philanthropies has announced additional US$115m funding to prevent deaths from heart disease.
The organisation’s investment will support Resolve to Save Lives (RTSL), a global public health non-profit organisation focused on preventing deaths from heart disease.
The US$115m commitment will help Resolve to Save Lives’ goal of saving 100 million lives from cardiovascular disease by 2047.
“Resolve to Save Lives is showing that we can prevent deaths from heart disease through simple interventions like eliminating artificial trans fats in the food supply, reducing sodium intake, and managing blood pressure levels,” says Michael R. Bloomberg, founder of Blomberg Philanthropies and WHO global ambassador.
“Given the encouraging progress they’ve been making, I’m looking forward to seeing what they accomplish over the next five years and beyond.”
Resolve to Save Lives’ Cardiovascular Health programmes will work to further reduce preventable deaths from heart attack and stroke by scaling up three strategies that can directly reduce risk factors for heart disease.
Trans fat elimination is one strategy meant to keep trans fat out of food in more than 30 additional countries through policy change, protecting more than 80 per cent of the global population.
Sodium reduction is another way to reduce risk factors when it comes to heart disease.
Resolve to Save Lives aims to work with low- and middle-income governments to reduce salt in food, promoting of low-sodium salt substitutes and implementing mandatory salt targets for packaged food.
The non-profit organisation will expand treatment of high blood pressure to reach more than 40 million patients across 31 countries by 2027, while promoting policies to advance best practices in hypertension programs.
“Funding for preventing and treating heart disease is far below what is needed and justified by the large burden,” says Dr Tom Frieden, president and CEO of Resolve to Save Lives .
“Since 2000, external funding for heart disease prevention in LMICs has stagnated, and currently accounts for less than 2 per cent of total development aid for health. We are immensely grateful to Bloomberg Philanthropies for continuing to fund and partner with us on this life-saving effort.”
This year’s announcement follows a 2017 investment of US$100m from Bloomberg Philanthropies that launched RTLS’s Cardiovascular Health programs bringing the total investment from Bloomberg Philanthropies to RTSL to US$215 million.
“We need to overcome the perception that deaths from heart disease are inevitable and spur global action to help people live longer, healthier lives,” Dr Renu Garg, senior vice president of cardiovascular health at Resolve to Save Lives, explains.
Resolve to Save Lives works with partners including the World Health Organization, Global Health Advocacy Incubator, Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health, World Bank, and the Pan American Health Organization (PAHO).
For more information, visit resolvetosavelives.org.
