At the 31st Meeting of Health Ministers of the WHO South-East Asia Region, SEARO Health Ministers adopted the 'New Delhi Declaration on High Blood Pressure' recognizing that an integrated strategy that addresses multiple NCD risk factors is needed to ensure a sustainable and affordable response to tackle high blood pressure.

Hypertension affects one out of three adults in the South-East Asia Region and increases the risk of heart disease, stroke and kidney failure, contributing to premature death and disability.

The declaration commits SEARO Health Ministers to accord high priority to the prevention and control of high blood pressure and to strive towards achieving the global voluntary targets and indicators included in the Global NCD Monitoring Framework endorsed by the 66th World Health Assembly.

The declaration furthermore entails a comprehensive list of public health measures and reinforces the importance to continue to implement the 2011 UN Political Declaration on the Prevention and Control of NCDs, the WHO Global NCD Action Plan 2013-2020 and existing strategies and plans aimed at reducing common risk factors.

Please click here to read the declaration.