Qatar is to adopt the CARDIO4Cities approach – a data-driven cardiovascular population health initiative – and become the regional hub for its expansion across the Middle East and North Africa, it was announced at today’s closing session of WISH 2024, the biennial gathering of healthcare knowledge organized by Qatar Foundation’s World Innovation Summit for Health.

CARDIO4Cities, created and validated by the Novartis Foundation, is proven to rapidly improve cardiovascular health in urban populations. It leverages the power of data to help authorities make better decisions for their healthcare systems and populations, and has been validated in three cities across three continents – São Paulo in Brazil, Dakar in Senegal, and Ulaanbaatar in Mongolia.

“The Novartis Foundation’s CARDIO4Cities initiative has shown extraordinary impact in other geographies, for example in Latin America, where significant reductions in heart attack and stroke rates were achieved,” said Dr. Ann Aerts, Head of the Novartis Foundation.

“By launching CARDIO4Cities in Doha, Qatar is not only joining this movement by leveraging its excellent health and data infrastructure to replicate these successes for the benefit of its population, but also demonstrating regional leadership which will hopefully inspire more countries in the Middle East to champion precision population health.”

Cardiovascular disease (CVD) is the world's leading cause of death – taking more than 20 million lives per year, with up to 80 percent of these deaths occurring in low and middle-income countries. Most deaths related to cardiovascular disease are preventable.

Sheikh Dr. Mohammed Bin Hamad Al-Thani, Director of Public Health Department, Ministry of Public Health, explained: “Cardiovascular disease is the leading cause of death in Qatar. Noncommunicable diseases cost Qatar QAR 18.1 billion annually, and CVDs account for 73 percent of that burden.

“In many cases, CVDs are preventable, and that’s why we are committed to shifting our focus and approach to prevention, rather than only improving care – this is especially important for chronic diseases, as most drivers of these diseases can be addressed outside of the health facilities, in our daily life.

“This is exactly why we are eagerly looking forward to implementing CARDIO4Cities in Qatar, and working together with different sectors and stakeholders to improve cardiovascular health in the country.”

Speaking about the significance of Qatar joining this initiative, Dr. Hilal Lashuel, Research, Development, and Innovation Adviser to the Chairperson’s Office and Executive Director of Research, Development and Innovation at Qatar Foundation (QF), said: “Participating in CARDIO4Cities offers Qatar unique opportunities to improve public health and drive innovation. Collaborating with a global network of cities allows us to share knowledge, learn from each other, and be inspired by new solutions developed in different urban settings.

“This partnership will help us develop tools to capture, integrate, and analyze data, as well as scalable strategies to improve cardiovascular health at both the population and individual levels.”

He added that one of the program’s key strengths is its tailored, data-driven approach, which adapts interventions to local needs. While fostering global collaboration, CARDIO4Cities ensures local ownership and prioritizes data privacy and security.

Held under the theme ‘Humanizing Health: Conflict, Equity, and Resilience’, the two-day WISH 2024 summit brought together over 3000 delegates, including more than 200 global health leaders and expert speakers to discuss evidence-based ideas and practices in healthcare innovation to address the world’s most urgent global health challenges including the impact of conflict on healthcare, cancer, antimicrobial resistance, mental health and palliative care.