Berlin Declaration

26 October 2021

The last 18 months have been devastating for the global health community. The fight against the COVID-19 pandemic has left behind other critical health challenges that now risk triggering a major new health and economic crisis. These are the big "silent killers", which include non-communicable diseases such as CVD – whose diagnosis and treatment have slowed significantly in the last 18 months.

The World Health Summit, which is the leading international forum on global health, this month specifically called out the need to transform & strengthen health systems as a critical goal for the health community (https://www.who.int/news-room/events/detail/2020/10/25/default-calendar/world-health-summit-2020). This further emphasizes the unique opportunity to elevate ASCVD on the political agenda and invest in healthier populations. This commitment by the Council for Heart Health members was upheld through the signing of the Berlin Declaration on 26th October 2021. This officially forms the Council for Heart Health aiming to call upon government leaders, national health system leaders, policy makers and international health organizations to elevate ASCVD high on their policy agenda and commit to political leadership, concerted efforts and investments to build healthier populations and address the challenges of ASCVD. The last 18 months has demonstrated that health is intrinsically linked to the wealth and safety of our nations. When you invest in healthcare and the management of ASCVD, you invest in both its people and the broader economy.