Children’s HeartLink President Jackie Boucher was a panelist at the meeting hosted by the American Heart Association on September 25th, during the 73rd session of the General Assembly of the United Nations. The General Assembly convenes in New York from September 18-28, 2018.
This side event Time to Disrupt the Health Care System: Novel Solutions for Quality Care in the NCD Era preceded a high-level meeting on September 27th dedicated to the prevention and control of noncommunicable diseases that includes pediatric heart disease.
“Participating on the panel and attending a high-level meeting is a wonderful opportunity for us to raise awareness about congenital heart disease in children and our work in this field. It also gives us the opportunity to engage more fully with other global experts and organizations in the field of noncommunicable diseases,” says Boucher.
“This panel helps us explore ways to engage patient and family leaders to advocate for patients to ensure the patient’s voice is heard,” adds Children’s HeartLink Vice President of Global Strategy and Advocacy Bistra Zheleva.
Since 1969, Children’s HeartLink has been dedicated to caring for children with heart disease. We lead training partnerships between hospitals from Brazil, China, India, Malaysia and Vietnam and medical volunteer teams from top teaching and research institutions around the world. Last year, medical professionals we’ve trained served almost 100,000 children with heart disease.
About the General Assembly: The General Assembly is one of the six main organs of the United Nations, the only one in which all Member States have equal representation: one nation, one vote. All 193 Member States of the United Nations are represented in this unique forum to discuss and work together on a wide array of international issues covered by the UN Charter, such as development, peace and security, international law, etc. In September, all the Members meet in the General Assembly Hall in New York for the annual General Assembly session.