2025 Concordia Annual Summit

A New Architecture for Heart Health: Cross-Sector Models Driving Equity

  • Health Opportunities & Challenges
Sarah Wells Kocsis, Paula Pohja-Hutchison, Rachna Chandora

Session
Partners

Session Summary

Important
Quotations

“It’s helpful that at the policy level, we now have shared goals that governments are committed to. Public-private partnerships can play a key role in supporting the delivery of these goals.”
Paula Pohja-Hutchison
“None of us can do this alone. We need engagement from the public sector, the private sector, research institutions, community groups, and most importantly, from the people who are most affected, so they have a voice in the process.”
Rachna Chandora

Key
Takeaways

  • Scale of Cardiovascular Health Crisis: Cardiovascular disease represents 30% of non-communicable disease deaths and affects approximately 70% of global mortality; about half of US adults live with hypertension, with three out of four not having it under control; and non-communicable diseases are projected to cost $47 trillion globally between 2010–2030.

 

  • Community-Centered Approach is Essential: Effective interventions leverage trusted local voices including pastors, community leaders, and barbershops; programs must bring screenings directly to community spaces, utilizing influencers and comedians to reach diverse audiences; and initiatives should be co-designed with communities, involving governments, ministries of health, civil society, and patient advocacy groups from the outset.

 

  • Integrated Care Models Show Promise: Successful interventions combine awareness, education, healthcare worker training, screenings, and care pathways; the CDC Foundation’s National Hypertension Control Program demonstrates success through a 360-degree, patient-centered approach; and AstraZeneca’s Healthy Heart Africa program has reached over 40 million people across nine countries with more than 30 million screenings.

 

  • Public-Private Partnerships are Critical: Multi-sector collaboration is essential, requiring engagement from the public and private sectors, research institutions, and community groups; policy-level commitments, such as WHO’s chronic kidney disease resolution, provide frameworks for action; and partnerships optimize limited resources by aligning strengths for maximum impact.

 

  • Prevention and Early Detection Focus: Early detection provides environmental co-benefits by reducing the carbon intensity of end-stage treatments like dialysis; and sustainable systems depend on building long-term healthcare capacity with growing government co-funding.

 

Action
Items

  • For Healthcare Organizations: Implement community partnership models with local organizations and trusted leaders; integrate cardiovascular and kidney disease screening into primary care settings; and establish comprehensive care pathways ensuring patient follow-up after screening.

 

  • For Policymakers: Align technology innovation policies with health equity for underserved communities; create frameworks facilitating public-private partnerships with shared cardiovascular health goals; and invest in sustainable community-based health program infrastructure.

 

  • For Private Sector: Actively engage in multi-sectorial partnerships; design technology solutions with direct community input addressing local health priorities; and develop scalable interventions adaptable across different communities.

 

  • For Community Organizations: Build health advocacy capacity among community leaders; establish local health hubs for regular screenings, education, and support services; and promote and support existing cardiovascular health initiatives.

 

  • For Research Institutions: Evaluate effectiveness of community-centered cardiovascular health approaches; develop implementation science frameworks for program replication and adaptation; and investigate barriers and solutions for AI and preventative health technology access.

 

  • Cross-Cutting Actions: Prioritize early detection and preventative interventions over treatment of advanced disease; develop sustainable financing strategies combining public and private resources; and establish robust metrics for program effectiveness while sharing best practices across sectors.

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