Why the study?
About 55 million people live with rheumatic heart disease and more than 370,000 die from it annually, mostly in low- and middle-income countries and among Indigenous peoples in wealthy nations. Because the disease is preventable and treatable with existing tools, its persistence reflects a failure of delivery and equity rather than a lack of knowledge.
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The Perth Declaration establishes a global roadmap, accountability framework, and phased targets through 2040—including a 50% youth mortality reduction by 2035 and Group A streptococcal vaccine licensure by 2036—to eliminate rheumatic fever and rheumatic heart disease as a public health problem.
Adopted at the Second World Congress on Rheumatic Heart Disease Perth, Australia, 11–14 November 2026 Convened by the World Heart Federation and the National Heart Foundation of Australia About 55 million people live with rheumatic heart disease and more than 370,000 die from it each year, almost entirely in low- and middle-income countries and among Indigenous peoples in wealthy ones. The disease is preventable, detectable, controllable and treatable with tools that have existed for decades; its persistence reflects a failure of delivery and equity, not of knowledge. The Perth Declaration, adopted at the Second World Congress on Rheumatic Heart Disease in November 2026, is issued by people living with the disease, civil society, clinicians and researchers, with governments invited to endorse it. It sets out eight commitments the community makes about its own conduct, each anchored to a Congress workshop and reported against in 2029; specific asks of governments, health services and global partners, including sustained financing, environmental health, community-controlled delivery and Indigenous data sovereignty; and phased targets to 2040, including a Group A streptococcal vaccine.
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Narula et al. (2026) studied Rheumatic fever and rheumatic heart disease. The Perth Declaration commitments and phased elimination targets (primordial/primary/secondary prevention, echocardiographic screening, registries, and Group A streptococcal vaccine development) was evaluated on Elimination of rheumatic fever and rheumatic heart disease as a public health problem by 2040 and at least 50% reduction in mortality under 25 years by 2035. The Perth Declaration establishes eight community commitments and phased global targets to reduce under-25 rheumatic heart disease mortality by ≥50% by 2035 and achieve elimination by 2040.
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