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The Global Coalition for Circulatory Health (GCCH), of which ISN is a member, has been calling on governments to do more to address the growing concern of cardiovascular diseases (including diabetes) since its creation in 2017. The urgent need to address cardiovascular diseases has become even more pressing this year as a result of the disproportionate impact the COVID-19 pandemic is having on people living with circulatory conditions such as diabetes, kidney disease or stroke.

On occasion of Universal Health Coverage (UHC) Day on December 12, the GCCH is urging governments to:

• Prioritise the inclusion of NCDs co-morbidity and multi-morbidity in the design and implementation of policies;
• Recognise multi-morbidity and co-morbidity as a growing worldwide public health concern;
• Include NCD prevention, early diagnosis, screening and appropriate treatment in essential public healthcare services and UHC benefit packages;
• Use the WHO HEARTS technical package;
• Recognise the impact COVID-19 is having on people with circulatory conditions and address interruptions in access to life-saving treatments;
• Protect and support the wellbeing of the health workforce;
• Collect standardised data on COVID-19 infection and death rates among health workers;
• Maximise common efforts to deliver an affordable, people-centred, integrated response to multiple morbidities.

Click here to read the full GCCH call to action.