Cardiovascular disease prevention in low resource settings: lessons from the Heartfile experience in Pakistan

This paper outlines activities of the Heartfile Program in Pakistan (http://heartfile.org). The program focuses on cardiovascular disease prevention and health promotion, and includes several initiatives that encompass building policy, reorienting health services, and developing community interventions that utilize the print and electronic media and outreach at the grass-root level to incorporate social marketing approaches. Initiated by the nonprofit private sector, the program now links with major public sector primary healthcare programs, and is currently spearheading formulation of the National Action Plan on Noncommunicable Disease Prevention and Control in Pakistan. In addition, the program is being refined, validated, and packaged as a replicable model for other developing countries and in low resource settings, utilizing appropriate principles of franchising with inbuilt components sensitive to cultural and social adaptations. A review of the planning process, implementation strategy, and fund-raising experience is presented. Strategies unique to low resource settings, such as the development of cost- and time-efficient strategic alliances and partnerships, have also been highlighted. In addition, specific caveats are identified as being helpful to private sector development of chronic disease prevention programs in resource-constrained settings, and a road map to a sustainable public-private sector partnership is provided.