United in Action for #StrokeActionNow - Update from the Global Stroke Action Coalition

10 Mar 2025 Advocacy News

As governments and global NCD stakeholders step up their preparations for September’s UN High-Level Meeting on Non-Communicable Diseases, the WSO-convened Global Stroke Action Coalition is busy pushing ahead with an ambitious agenda that seeks to drive awareness and action on stroke at global policy level.

Stroke has long been overlooked in global and national health policy, lagging in terms of both perceived social and economic impact. The result has been that investment and implementation of prevention, care and rehabilitation which could stem the stroke tsunami and transform outcomes for patients, have lagged behind other NCDs. The Global Stroke Action Coalition is a multisectoral collaboration between scientific societies, stroke support organizations and industry, who have set out to address this and to accelerate action that wil reduce the impact of stroke for everyone, everywhere by driving urgent commitment, investment, and action on stroke prevention, treatment and continuing care.

A series of Coalition partner workshops have established a collaborative work program that aims to leverage key opportunities in this year’s advocacy calendar to increase visibility and understanding of stroke among key policy stakeholders and to set out a strong call for action across the care pathway. A visual identity, key messages and a hard-hitting policy document have all been developed, alongside a website that are all due to go live as part of the official Coalition launch on April 9^th. The launch format will be a LinkedIn live webinar, featuring experts from NCD policy, health economics, Ministries of Health. With input from people with lived experience of stroke, the event will set out a strong case for action to address the individual, social and economic impact of stroke. A media engagement program and virtual PR tour is planned to leverage the launch as an opportunity to highlight key messages within the Coalition policy brief ‘Stroke Action Now’.

Following on fast from the launch, the Coalition will host a stroke focused side event at the World Health Assembly in May. Also in May, WSO will represent the Coalition at a UN Multistakeholder Hearing in New York. This key event will inform negotiations on the Political Declaration from the High Level Meeting in September and provides a key opportunity to advance visibility and secure commitment to stroke as part of the global NCD agenda.

From May through to September, WSO members and the stroke community can expect to see opportunities to access advocacy training as well as advocacy campaign tools and resources that are designed to drive home the call for #StrokeActionNow.

For more information on Coalition membership and policy engagement opportunities, please contact mgrupper@world-stroke.org

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