African Heart Network

African Heart Network
Name	African Heart Network
Formation	2010s
Type	Non-governmental organization
Region served	Africa
Headquarters	Nairobi
Leader title	Executive Director

African Heart Network African Heart Network is a pan-African non-governmental organization focused on cardiovascular health across Nigeria, Kenya, South Africa and the wider African Union region. The network links clinicians, researchers, policy-makers and civil society from institutions such as University of Ibadan, Makerere University, University of Cape Town, International Society of Hypertension and World Heart Federation to address heart disease, stroke and hypertension in collaboration with actors like World Health Organization and Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation. It operates through national chapters, regional hubs and technical working groups connected to programs such as those run by African Development Bank, United Nations Development Programme and Global Fund.

History

African Heart Network traces roots to regional meetings convened after landmark conferences such as the WHO Regional Committee for Africa workshops and the Lancet Commission on Global Surgery discussions. Early conveners included cardiologists affiliated with Aga Khan University, Stellenbosch University, University of Lagos, Addis Ababa University and public health experts from London School of Hygiene & Tropical Medicine and Johns Hopkins University. The organization expanded after pilot projects funded by Wellcome Trust, National Institutes of Health and European Commission partnerships, and formalized governance inspired by models from Doctors Without Borders, International Committee of the Red Cross and African Medical and Research Foundation.

Mission and Objectives

The mission emphasizes reducing premature cardiovascular mortality across Democratic Republic of the Congo, Ethiopia, Ghana, Rwanda and other member states by strengthening clinical care, surveillance and policy advocacy. Objectives include capacity building with partners like Royal College of Physicians, American Heart Association, Royal Society and Institute of Tropical Medicine, improving access to essential medicines listed by World Health Organization Model List of Essential Medicines, supporting task-shifting strategies used by Partners In Health and informing national noncommunicable disease strategies modeled on WHO Global Action Plan for the Prevention and Control of NCDs.

Programs and Initiatives

Programs include clinical training fellowships in collaboration with Oxford University Clinical Research Unit, surgical outreach modeled after Operation Smile frameworks, community screening campaigns leveraging networks such as African Union Youth Volunteer Corps and digital interventions linked to initiatives by mPedigree, Safaricom and Vodacom Group. The Network runs the HEART Trial Series with methodological support from Cochrane Collaboration, ClinicalTrials.gov registries and statistical partnerships with London School of Economics and Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health. Initiatives also encompass policy dialogues held at venues like African Union Headquarters, United Nations Economic Commission for Africa conferences and regional meetings coordinated with West African Health Organization and East African Community health fora.

Research and Publications

Research outputs include epidemiological studies published in journals aligned with The Lancet, BMJ, Circulation, European Heart Journal and regional outlets such as South African Medical Journal and African Journal of Primary Health Care & Family Medicine. Publications have addressed comparative analyses involving cohorts from Framingham Heart Study methodologies, risk stratification using tools developed with Imperial College London, and implementation science frameworks popularized by Implementation Science (journal). Data collaborations have involved repositories hosted with H3Africa, Wellcome Sanger Institute initiatives and computational partnerships with Microsoft Research and Google Health.

Partnerships and Collaborations

Strategic partners include multilateral agencies like World Health Organization, United Nations Children's Fund, World Bank and philanthropies including Rockefeller Foundation and Gates Cambridge Trust. Academic partners span University of Oxford, Columbia University, University of Toronto, Karolinska Institutet and University of Melbourne. Clinical and professional alliances extend to African Cardiac Society, Pan-African Society of Cardiology, International Society of Hypertension and regional health ministries such as the Ministry of Health (Kenya), Ministry of Health (Nigeria), Department of Health (South Africa) and Ministry of Health (Ghana).

Governance and Funding

Governance is overseen by a board with representatives from institutions like University of Nairobi, University of Lagos, MRC Unit The Gambia and Council on Health Research for Development. Funding streams combine grants from Wellcome Trust, Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, European Commission Horizon 2020 awards, contracts with Global Fund to Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria and donations managed through fiduciary partners such as African Development Bank financial instruments and philanthropic vehicles like Schmidt Futures. Annual reports align with standards used by Charity Commission for England and Wales and audited practices employed by PricewaterhouseCoopers and KPMG.

Category:Non-profit organizations based in Africa