The burden of hypertension is high in South-East Asia Region. Every 1 in 4 adults in the Region have high blood pressure. Only 1 in 3 adults with high blood pressure are on treatment while only 1 in 10 have it under control. Considering the significant burden of hypertension, advocated by WHO, the Member States endorsed the Resolution on ‘SEAHEARTS: Accelerating prevention and control of cardiovascular diseases in the Southeast Asia Region’ (SEA/RC76/R5) in 2023. SEAHEARTS serves as a platform to bring together tobacco control, salt reduction, and elimination of trans-fatty acids along with improved hypertension and diabetes coverage and control through primary health care. The Resolution urges countries to accelerate the implementation of WHO technical packages to reach the interim milestones of the ‘Dhaka Call to Action – Accelerating the control of cardiovascular diseases in a quarter of the world’s population’. One of the four milestones is to place 100 million people with hypertension and/or diabetes on protocol-based management in primary health care by 2025.
The webinar organized by the Healthier Population and Noncommunicable Diseases (HPN) Department of the WHO South-East Asia Region to observe World Hypertension Day, aimed at sharing the experiences of successful initiatives and good practices, both globally and regionally, to scale up coverage and control of hypertension through primary healthcare. It also served as an opportunity for WHO to fulfill its mandate to offer a platform for Member States to regularly share and exchange best practices on the implementation of SEAHEARTS.
The webinar featured experts and speakers representing various sectors, such as the Ministry of Health, academic institutions, healthcare providers, and researchers. Technical inputs on measures to reduce the risk of hypertension, economic burden of hypertension, and the importance of information systems for hypertension at the primary health care level provided an insight on the elements of the health systems that need to be strengthened in the Regional countries. The panel discussions on accelerating hypertension coverage through primary health care with programme managers of Ministries of Health in selected countries of the Region provided an opportunity to learn the progress and the lessons learnt in the collective efforts to implement SEAHEARTS. Discussion on the strategic partnerships highlighted on the support provided by developmental partners to improve hypertension prevention and management in the region.
The webinar was attended by over 150 participants, which included policymakers, program managers, public health practitioners, and researchers from the South-East Asia Region and beyond.