Resolve To Save Lives

The Nigerian government recently launched its National Sodium Reduction Guideline, marking a major milestone in efforts to reduce excessive sodium consumption and address the burden of heart disease in the country. The guideline, developed by the Federal Ministry of Health and Social Welfare Nigeria (FMOH&SW) with support from our team and other partners, aligns with the National Multi-Sectoral Action Plan for the Prevention and Control of Non-Communicable Diseases (2019–2025) and is guided by the World Health Organization's SHAKE Technical Package. It will serve as a strategic framework for the government’s interventions to reduce excessive sodium consumption and create a healthier food environment in Nigeria, including setting mandatory sodium content limits for processed and packaged foods. It also highlights the importance of adopting global best practices in the development of complementary policies such as front-of-package labeling. If effectively implemented, the guideline is projected to contribute to a significant reduction in hypertension and other sodium-related non-communicable diseases in Nigeria by 2030. To kickstart the implementation, the (FMOH&SW) also unveiled the sodium reduction campaign tagged “Let Your Health Guide Your Taste.” Congratulations to Nigeria for this exciting milestone! Access the guideline here: https://lnkd.in/gc8yx5V8

Health workers lie at the heart of our global capacity to respond to infectious disease threats and health emergencies. Investment in the protection of the health workforce is an investment in global health security.  #WHWWeek #healthworkerssavelives

4.3 million people in Sri Lanka have high blood pressure, but only 16% have it under control. Our team partnered with the Ministry of Health to pilot a quality improvement program that led to leap in control rates. Read more:

🚀 Join Our Team at Resolve To Save Lives At Resolve To Save Lives, we work to prevent millions of deaths from epidemics, cardiovascular disease, and other major health threats. We’re growing our team and looking for mission-driven people to help advance this work. Some of the key roles we're currently hiring for include: 🔹 A 𝐏𝐫𝐢𝐧𝐜𝐢𝐩𝐚𝐥 𝐀𝐝𝐯𝐢𝐬𝐨𝐫, 𝐅𝐨𝐨𝐝 𝐏𝐨𝐥𝐢𝐜𝐲 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐄𝐧𝐯𝐢𝐫𝐨𝐧𝐦𝐞𝐧𝐭 (Remote: US, UK, France, Nigeria) to shape innovative food and nutrition policy to promote healthier environments and reduce sodium consumption. 🔹 A 𝐏𝐫𝐢𝐧𝐜𝐢𝐩𝐚𝐥 𝐀𝐝𝐯𝐢𝐬𝐨𝐫, 𝐇𝐲𝐩𝐞𝐫𝐭𝐞𝐧𝐬𝐢𝐨𝐧 𝐂𝐨𝐧𝐭𝐫𝐨𝐥 𝐏𝐨𝐥𝐢𝐜𝐲 (Remote: US, UK, France, Nigeria, Ethiopia) to lead policy strategy and implementation to improve hypertension control programs globally. 🔹 A 𝐏𝐫𝐢𝐧𝐜𝐢𝐩𝐚𝐥 𝐌𝐚𝐧𝐚𝐠𝐞𝐫, 𝐂𝐚𝐫𝐝𝐢𝐨𝐯𝐚𝐬𝐜𝐮𝐥𝐚𝐫 𝐇𝐞𝐚𝐥𝐭𝐡 (Addis Ababa, Ethiopia) to coordinate country-level cardiovascular health programs, working closely with partners and governments. 🔹 A 𝐏𝐫𝐨𝐝𝐮𝐜𝐭 & 𝐃𝐞𝐬𝐢𝐠𝐧 𝐂𝐨𝐧𝐬𝐮𝐥𝐭𝐚𝐧𝐭 (Remote – India-based) to design digital tools that support hypertension management and improve patient outcomes. 🔹 A 𝐌𝐚𝐫𝐤𝐞𝐭 𝐒𝐡𝐚𝐩𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐂𝐨𝐧𝐬𝐮𝐥𝐭𝐚𝐧𝐭, 𝐋𝐨𝐰 𝐒𝐨𝐝𝐢𝐮𝐦 𝐒𝐚𝐥𝐭 (Remote) to support efforts to expand access to low-sodium salt in low- and middle-income countries. 🔹 We’re also recruiting a small team to work in partnership with the Zambia National Public Health Institute (ZNPHI) on critical health security and preparedness initiatives: a 𝐆𝐫𝐚𝐧𝐭𝐬 𝐌𝐚𝐧𝐚𝐠𝐞𝐦𝐞𝐧𝐭 𝐒𝐩𝐞𝐜𝐢𝐚𝐥𝐢𝐬𝐭; a 𝐌𝐨𝐧𝐢𝐭𝐨𝐫𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐄𝐯𝐚𝐥𝐮𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧 𝐎𝐟𝐟𝐢𝐜𝐞𝐫; and a 𝐏𝐫𝐨𝐠𝐫𝐚𝐦𝐦𝐞 𝐈𝐦𝐩𝐥𝐞𝐦𝐞𝐧𝐭𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧 𝐒𝐩𝐞𝐜𝐢𝐚𝐥𝐢𝐬𝐭. We offer a flexible, collaborative, and remote-friendly work environment, with teammates based across the globe. Explore all open positions and apply here: 👇 https://lnkd.in/dmGbjuUd

Without a reliable, affordable supply of their medicines, patients can't stick to their treatment plans. This can have deadly consequences, especially for those living with high blood pressure. On this #WorldAdherenceDay, we encourage ministries of health to make blood pressure-lowering drugs free at the point of care for the more than 1 billion people living with high blood pressure so they can take back control of their lives.

Our team joined health and public sector leaders, policymakers, development partners and others at the 2025 Africa Health Agenda International Conference (AHAIC) in Rwanda to discuss strategies for strengthening Africa's health security. The conference created an avenue for engagement on some of the areas we work in, including primary healthcare, non-communicable diseases, climate-resilient health systems, genomic surveillance, and domestic resource mobilization for health systems. Speaking at a ministerial roundtable, Nanlop Ogbureke, Executive Director of RTSL Nigeria, reflected on key lessons from past outbreaks and outlined three proven strategies to ensure countries can respond swiftly and effectively to future health threats: using the 7-1-7 target for early outbreak detection and response, ensuring primary health care is epidemic-ready, and supporting national public health institutes.

I spoke recently at the American Heart Association's EPI/Lifestyle Scientific Sessions in New Orleans on global progress in heart health. It was an honor to discuss why Resolve To Save Lives is working to save 100 million lives from heart disease. I shared the story of Jagannath from Uttar Pradesh, India. He recently visited his local clinic for back pain. Universal screening during his visit showed dangerously high blood pressure, which likely contributed to his pain. Because of this, Jagannath left the clinic with pain medicine for his back and medicine for his high blood pressure. This goes to show how important our collective efforts are—especially when heart disease is a health threat that often goes unnoticed because symptoms are vague or appear unrelated. In partnership with more than 60 countries, global health organizations, and civil society, we focus on supporting impactful strategies in a simple, scalable way: —Universal screening for high blood pressure at every health visit and getting high blood pressure under control —Food policies that help reduce salt consumption, which is strongly tied to high blood pressure —Food policies that eliminate toxic artificial trans fat from the food supply and replace it with healthier fats   We do this work because achieving 50% blood pressure control globally will prevent 250 million cardiovascular tragedies between now and 2050. Reducing salt consumption by 30% could save 1.6 million lives each year. And global trans fat eliminate would protect everyone from a food additive that is easily replaceable. To date, our collective efforts have saved 7.5 million lives, placed 30 million people on treatment for high blood pressure, and protected 4 billion people from trans fat. But the work is not done. We rely on the expertise and hard work of our partners to make progress until everyone has access to the quality care they need and live in environments that protect against these preventable harms.

As part of efforts to strengthen public health governance and security in Nigeria, our team, in partnership with the Nasarawa State Government and Orixine Consulting, hosted the state’s first citizen town hall on the recently drafted Nasarawa State Public Health Security Bill 2024, which would establish a robust legal framework for public health surveillance, emergency management and the protection of health care workers during crises. The event, which took place in Lafia, brought together key stakeholders, including government officials from the three critical One Health ministries, professional associations, civil society organizations, and community leaders, to comment and provide opinions on the bill. Speaking at the town hall, Dr. Isaac Edoh, Permanent Secretary of the Nasarawa State Ministry of Justice, emphasised the bill's significance in strengthening disease surveillance, epidemic preparedness, and response efforts while reaffirming the ministry’s commitment to ensuring its passage. RTSL’s Senior Legal Advisor, Emem Udoh, commended the collaborative efforts from stakeholders and reiterated our commitment to supporting efforts aimed at strengthening health security in Nigeria, particularly at the state and local levels.

On this day in 2020, WHO declared COVID-19 a pandemic. The past five years have made one thing clear: public health emergencies are no longer once-in-a-century events. Preparedness isn’t a luxury—it’s a necessity. Here are some concrete steps the world can take to boost health security.

We worked with partners in Ethiopia, including the Ethiopian Public Health Institute and Deputy Director Melkamu Abte (MD,MPH,MSc), as well as the Addis Ababa City Administration Health Bureau, to strengthen the capacity of frontline health workers at Gelan Gura Health Center to detect, report and respond to infectious disease threats. Read about our efforts in this new article.