Uniting to address paediatric heart disease in Africa: Advocacy from Rwanda

  • Agnes Binagwaho Ministry of Health of Rwanda, Kigali Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA, USA Geisel School of Medicine at Dartmouth, Hanover, NH, USA
  • Emmanuel K. Rusingiza Kigali University Teaching Hospital, Kigali
  • Joseph Mucumbitsi King Faisal Hospital, Kigali
  • Claire M. Wagner Global Health Delivery Partnership, Boston, MA
  • JaBaris D. Swain Brigham and Women’s Hospital, Boston, MA
  • Abel Kagame King Faisal Hospital, Kigali
  • Gene Bukhman Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA Brigham and Women’s Hospital, Boston, MA Partners In Health, Boston, MA
  • Parfait Uwaliraye Ministry of Health of Rwanda, Kigali
  • Jean Pierre Nyemazi The Dartmouth Centre for Health Care Delivery Science, Hanover, NH
  • Cameron T. Nutt The Dartmouth Centre for Health Care Delivery Science, Hanover, NH
  • R. Morton Bolman Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA Brigham and Women’s Hospital, Boston, MA Team Heart, Boston, MA
  • Hal Goldberg Healing Hearts Northwest, Spokane, WA
  • Russell Lee Operation Open Heart, Sydney
  • Thierry Sluysmans Cliniques Universitaires Saint-Luc, Brussels, Chain of Hope, Brussels,
  • Jean de Dieu Ngirabega Ministry of Health of Rwanda, Kigali
DOI: https://doi.org/10.24170/10-2-1804

Abstract

Paediatric heart disease causes death or disability in 15 million children around the world each year – a fi gure staggeringly disproportionate to available and relevant international funding and support. Although 80% of the burden of cardiovascular disorders fall in low- and middleincome countries, poor countries have a very limited capacity to build a system of care to address heart disease, including prevention, care, control and research. In this article, authors who work in or with Rwanda’s public sector aim to describe the current state of heart disease among children, what is currently being done to manage care and future directions for the national programme. As the world turns its attention to non-communicable diseases and seeks to ensure that they fi nd a prominent place in the post-2015 development agenda, it is essential to ensure that children are not left behind.

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Published
2017-03-31
Issue
Vol. 10 No. 2 (2013): Autumn
Section
Commentary

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