Join us in combating rheumatic heart disease, saving 300,000 lives annually through vital support and global action.
NCD ‘Best Buys’ are evidence-based interventions identified by the World Health Organisation (WHO) as the most cost effective and impactful strategies for the prevention and control of NCDs. All new NCD 'Best Buys’ interventions are selected using the same criteria and all must have a clear link to the global NCD targets. After successful lobbying by the global RHD community - supported by impactful research and cost-effectiveness analysis two interventions were added to the WHO ‘Best Buys’ list in 2024:
• ‘Secondary prevention of rheumatic fever and rheumatic heart disease by developing a register of patients who receive regular prophylactic penicillin’
• ‘Primary prevention of rheumatic fever and rheumatic heart diseases by increasing appropriate treatment of streptococcal pharyngitis at the primary care level’
What does this mean for Reach’s work?
This new directive helps orient health systems to address the prevention and control of RHD through people-centred primary health care. In this regard Reach will continue to support partner governments and other key stakeholders in low to lower-middle income countries by helping to:
• Raise awareness among the patient and carer community about the importance of secondary prevention
• Deliver RF/RHD and sore throat management training for health workers
• Offering tools and advice to governments around the use of patient registers for monitoring patient treatment particularly at the primary health care level
• Advocating for reliable and equitable supplies of benzathine penicillin
• Supporting RF/RHD clinical guidelines development or review
.png)
.png)
.png)
.png)
.png)
.png)
