- Heart
Foundation selected to host 2026 World Congress on Rheumatic Heart Disease in
WA
- Congress
to be held in Perth in November
- Event
brings together global researchers, health professionals, patients, advocates,
and health leaders in the effort to help end rheumatic heart disease
- Cook
Government committed to supporting the wellbeing of all Western Australians
The world's brightest minds tackling rheumatic heart disease (RHD) will
assemble in Perth late next year for the second-ever World
Heart Federation World Congress on RHD.
The Geneva-based World Heart Federation announced the Congress today,
with the news welcomed by the Cook Government, WA Health, National Heart
Foundation of Australia, and The Kids Research Institute Australia.
The Congress will bring together global researchers, innovators,
practitioners, patients, advocates, and leaders to explore practical and
effective solutions that will help end rheumatic heart disease.
The news follows the launch earlier this month of a new Future Health
Research and Innovation (FHRI) Fund Spotlight Program with the theme of
rheumatic heart disease.
Through that
program, $25 million is being invested over the next five years, uniting
researchers, health professionals, and communities in the effort to improve
research, prevention, diagnosis, and treatment of RHD.
Rheumatic heart
disease is a preventable condition that continues to have a devastating impact
on many Western Australians, particularly in Aboriginal communities.
Virtually
eradicated in large parts of the world, RHD also continues to have a terrible
effect on vulnerable communities in Australia, as well as sub-Saharan Africa,
the Middle East, South and Southeast Asia and the Western Pacific, affecting 55
million people and claiming more than 300,000 lives each year.
RHD is damage to
heart valves caused by acute rheumatic fever (ARF). ARF occurs through
untreated streptococcal A (Strep A) infections.
In Australia, RHD
and ARF have been largely eliminated in most urban population groups but
disproportionately affect Aboriginal children and young people as well as
populations across the Pacific.
In Australia, more
than 11,000 people are on medical registries as living with ARF and RHD. More
than 90 per cent of ARF diagnoses continue to be among Aboriginal Australians,
most aged between 5 and 14 years.
Complementing the
focus on medical research into RHD, the Department of Health is also developing
a strategic framework for hospitals and health services to address the disease.
The World Heart Federation World Congress on
RHD will be hosted in Perth by the Heart Foundation with support from sponsors
the Western Australian Government, the Leducq Foundation, the American Heart
Association, the National Heart Foundation of New Zealand, Business Events
Perth, and Business Events Australia.
The event will be held from 12 to 14
November 2026 at the Pan Pacific.
Since its
establishment in 2020, the FHRI Fund has awarded more than $282 million to 810
recipients, supporting researchers and innovators to deliver impactful health
solutions.
Comments attributed to Medical Research
Minister Stephen Dawson:
"I am very pleased that Perth will be home to the second Heart Federation World
Congress on RHD, following the first World Congress which was held in Abu Dhabi
in 2023.
"This will be a
globally significant event - working together to combat rheumatic heart
disease, which disproportionately impacts Aboriginal Western Australians and
disadvantaged people around the world, is such an important endeavour.
"It aligns with
Western Australia's strategic focus on medical research and innovation and our
Future Health Research and Innovation Fund Strategy 2025-30.
"It is also
timely, given our government's recent $25 million investment into RHD research.
"Having the congress
in Perth further cements WA's position as a leader in medical research and
innovation that has real-world benefits."
Comments
attributed to Heart Foundation chief executive and World Heart Federation vice-president
elect David Lloyd:
"Rheumatic fever
and heart disease are the result of disadvantage. We know how to eradicate it:
we just need support to make it happen.
"Today's
announcement by the World Heart Federation, along with the support of government
and philanthropy to bring this congress to Australia, gives me immense hope
that we will continue to make strides towards eradicating RHD."
Comments
attributed to The Kids Research Institute Australia executive director
Professor Jonathan Carapetis:
"Australia is at
the forefront of research into reducing early deaths and suffering from
rheumatic heart disease and the Strep A infections that cause it, and this work
happens in partnership with First Nations communities that bear the brunt of
these diseases in our country.
"Bringing this congress to Western Australia
provides an opportunity not only to showcase our local and national approaches,
but also to learn from others around the world."
