Bloomberg Philanthropies has announced an additional five-year, $115 million commitment to Resolve to Save Lives (RTSL), a global public health organization dedicated to preventing deaths from heart disease.

The funding will support the organization’s goal of saving 100 million lives from cardiovascular disease by 2047 by scaling strategies that reduce heart disease risk factors, such as trans fats, sodium, and hypertension. According to Bloomberg Philanthropies, cardiovascular deaths are highest in low- and middle-income countries (LMICs), and between 2011 and 2025, the estimated financial loss due to heart attack and stroke in LMICs is $3.7 trillion, representing 2 percent of the entire world’s gross domestic product.

In 2017, Bloomberg Philanthropies invested $100 million in RTSL to launch its cardiovascular health program. Global and regional partners of RTSL include the World Health Organization, Global Health Advocacy Incubator, Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health, World Bank, and the Pan American Health Organization.

“Funding for preventing and treating heart disease is far below what is needed and justified by the large burden. Since 2000, external funding for heart disease prevention in LMICs has stagnated, and currently accounts for less than 2 percent of total development aid for health,” said Tom Frieden, president and CEO of Resolve to Save Lives and a former director of the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. “We are immensely grateful to Bloomberg Philanthropies for continuing to fund and partner with us on this life-saving effort.”

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