A new whole-of-city strategy for addressing cardiovascular population health

Abstract

People in low- and middle-income countries experience heart disease at alarming rates. As urbanization accelerates, cities can drive innovative partnerships to improve prevention and management of heart disease, bringing government, business and civil society together. Through Better Hearts Better Cities, we pioneered a people-centered and multisector initiative, guided and owned by local city authorities, to address cardiovascular disease and its underlying causes within the context of rapid urbanization, reaching millions of people. Cities across the world can apply its strategy, consisting of six pillars named CARDIO, shorthand for Care, Access, policy Reform, Data and digital, Intersectoral collaboration and local Ownership.