Dr. Abraha Hailu Weldegerima from the Ayder Hospital Mekelle at the panel at the World Congress of Rheumatic Heart Disease 2026

15.11.2026 17:09

Dr. Abraha Hailu Weldegerima presented findings from the PrevRHD program with this poster at the poster session at the 2026 World Congress on Rheumatic Heart Disease.

Dr. Abraha reports on the results of the World Congress on Rheumatic Heart Disease on November 11th, 2026

Happy to have stepped up onto this global stage in Perth, Australia, at the #WorldCongressRHD: on its kick-off plenary session, "From Resolution to Reality—Implementing the Next Chapter in Rheumatic Heart Disease (RHD) Prevention and Control."

We have seen tremendous global achievements in advocacy and fresh guidelines on RHD control; thanks to the leadership of the WHF, WHO and Champion Scientist Advocates from across the globe!

It is encouraging that we are witnessing the “Global South”, highly affected by RHD, is also spearheading the initiatives to eliminate RHD and the #WHF is committing, with the attendees of this congress, to take the fight to the next level by another ambitious and necessary goal of eliminating RHD by 2040.

Looking back at the 2018 World Health Assembly resolution, despite huge achievements, there are still three areas that need to be addressed, as put by Shawar and Shiffman in their article “Generating Global Priority for Addressing Rheumatic Heart Disease: A Qualitative Policy Analysis was nicely presented by Prof. Liesl at WCRHD2023:

1. Leadership and Governance: Nations /National Ministry of Health needs to lead, fund and integrate RHD control and prevention programs.

2. Problem-Solution Definition: Policymakers, advocates, researchers, epidemiologists, clinicians/cardiologists, ID specialists, pediatricians, interventionists/surgeons, etc., need to work on the best and doable means of preventing RHD spanning from primary and secondary prevention to diagnosis to treatment.
3. Positioning: questions like “Where does RHD belong?" Some argue it is caused by a Group Streptococcus (GAS) throat/skin infection and hence is a Communicable disease; others say it should be under Non communicable Disease (NCD). RHD is also armed as a neglected cardiovascular disease group. In the meantime nobody seems responsible for stopping the problem, and hence RHD falls in the middle of "Nowhere." The other positioning issue includes neglect by the Global North, as the problem is far away and a problem of the poor.

Avoiding poverty (primordial prevention) is the simple answer to eliminating RHD. In terms of what "we" can do practically, we still have questions about how best to do the prevention and control activities or implement what we know so far.

Where should Governments, NGOs, funders, philanthropists, and research centers spend their much-needed time and energy/resources to eliminate RHD? Primary / Secondary/Tertiary Prevention?

“Let’s end RHD in our lifetimes."