In a landmark show of solidarity, five patient organizations representing people with congenital anomalies joined the World Health Organization and U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention for a webinar in celebration of World Birth Defects Day. Addressing Birth Defects Inequities – Prevention, Lifesaving, and Lifelong Care, presented on March 4, aimed to raise awareness...
Heart Month and CHD Awareness Week were a buzz of activity, and we shared as much as we could on our social media channels! Here are just a handful, as well as a short video we created. Thank you to all of our member organizations for sending, and showing off, your amazing campaigns. Heart Month highlights https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ltqndds6Za0&t=1s&ab_channel=GlobalARCH ...
The first-of-its-kind workshop on the meaningful engagement of people living with non-communicable diseases (NCDs), “Nothing for Us, Without Us: Meaningful Engagement of People Living with NCDs,” was recently held in Kathmandu, Nepal. It was initiated by Global ARCH Board Member Anu Gomanju, an active RHD advocate. The workshop took a year to plan and became...
The conference was chaired by Prof. Afksendiyos Kalangos, President and Founder of the Global Forum, who presented the Welcome Address. Conference organizers included Global ARCH Medical Advisory Board member Dr. Kathy Jenkins and Board Member Bistra Zheleva. The aim of the Congress was to continue to address critical issues facing developing countries, including the shortage of...
“We must not forget the human faces behind these statistics. RHD is a burden that falls disproportionately on the most vulnerable. These statistics are not just numbers; they are lives interrupted.”– WHF President-Elect Jagat Narula The 1st World Congress on Rheumatic Heart Disease in Abu Dhabi, hosted by the World Heart Federation (WHF), offered up an agenda packed with...
For 5 busy, action-packed days 37 Global ARCH member organizations from 23 countries met in Washington, DC at the 8th World Congress for Pediatric Cardiology & Cardiac Surgery. On Sunday, we held our Global Summit at the American College of Cardiology, using break-out sessions to learn more about each group, and to discuss the challenges we all face. We...
On August 31, representatives from Global ARCH, Children's HeartLink, and the 8th World Congress for Pediatric Cardiology & Cardiac Surgery, met with the maternal and child health and nutrition team at the United States Agency for International Development (USAID) in Washington, DC. Later in the day, the group met with officials from the World Bank. This small group of...
We are very excited to announce that as of October 1, 2023, Kate has joined the Global ARCH team. She has already earned her stripes by volunteering her time to accompany us to the World Congress and UNGA2023 – both ahead of her official start date – where her leadership and enthusiasm were very much...
Global ARCH joined Operation Smile, Miracle Feet, and Children’s HeartLink at the UN General Assembly meeting on September 21 to speak up for the needs of children born with birth defects around the globe in need of surgical correction or other treatment, and how to advocate with policymakers for their inclusion in the universal health coverage agenda. This high-level meeting, sponsored by...
Global ARCH loves to celebrate World Heart Day! This year we’ve created personalized posters for many of our members to use to help raise awareness of CHD and RHD, with links to our Declaration of Rights. We also asked our members to send us photos in support of the Declaration of Rights in their communities. Here...
Nahimeh Jaffar has worked as a certified Project Manager (PMP) in various fields, including Public Health, Biotech, and Pharmaceuticals, working within clinical settings such as hospitals and clinics. In addition, she worked with global communities in Africa, the Caribbean, and the Middle East, supporting various social impact projects. Ms. Jaffar has been involved in preventive health initiatives in collaboration with the Center for Disease Control (CDC, USA) and the Center for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS, USA).
Ms. Jaffar holds an MBA in Business Development from the Swiss Institute of Higher Management, Vevey, Switzerland, and a bachelor’s degree in Consumer Affairs from California State University, Northridge, USA.
Amy Verstappen has been a patient advocate and health educator since 1996, when her own challenges living with a complex heart defect led her to the Adult Congenital Heart Association, where she served as president from 2001 to 2013. She has served as an advisor to the Centers for Disease Control the National Heart, Lung and Blood Institute; and the International Society for Adult Congenital Cardiac Disease, and worked with congenital heart patient and professional groups throughout the USA and the world. Ms. Verstappen received a Masters in Education in 1990 and a Masters in Global Health in 2019.
