The Second Regional Consultation on the SEAHEARTS initiative was held virtually on 24 July 2025. The meeting brought together nominated officials from the Ministries of Health of Member States, responsible for the control of NCD risk factors and the management of hypertension and diabetes. Technical staff from WHO country offices and the regional office also participated. A total of 60 participants attended the consultation.
The consultation aimed to review Member States’ progress towards four SEAHEARTS milestones, share lessons learned, and discuss the path forward beyond 2025.
Updates highlighted major achievements, including 87 million people placed on protocol-based hypertension and diabetes management as of June 2025 gainst a target of 100 million by 2025 . Regarding other milestones , more than 380.million people are protected by at least three MPOWER measures with highest level of achievement for tobacco control, 2.08 billion people are covered by at least one WHO SHAKE technical package measure and 2.03 billion people are protected from the harmful effects of trans fats through best practice or complementary policy measures Countries shared enabling strategies like digital tracking tools, large-scale screening drives, and universal health coverage, while also acknowledging challenges such as human resource shortages, medicine stockouts, and access barriers.
The consultation concluded with broad consensus to extend and expand SEAHEARTS milestones to 2030, aligning with global NCD and SDG targets. Countries were invited to review and provide feedback on proposed targets for hypertension, diabetes, salt reduction, tobacco control, and trans-fat elimination. WHO will compile the outcomes for presentation at the High-Level Preparatory Meeting and the 78th Regional Committee Meeting.