Global Alliance for Rheumatic and Congenital Hearts

09/29/2026

Happy World Heart Day! Don't miss a beat. 💙

Today we are celebrating with two big announcements:

🌍 Our new website is live. Find member and partner organizations on our interactive map, register for the monthly Leaders' Forum, read stories from our community and download free resources and toolkits.
👉 https://global-arch.org

📖 Our 2025 Annual Report is here. In 2025 our community grew to 90 member organizations and 53 partners in 47 countries, and patient voices reached the United Nations.
👉 https://global-arch.org/annual-report/2025-annual-report/

Why join Global ARCH? Connection with patient and family leaders in 50+ countries, world knowledge from peers who have walked this path, a place to belong, and a real voice in global health. Membership is free:
👉 https://global-arch.org/join-our-community/

Thank you to every member, partner, volunteer and family who keeps this movement beating. Don't miss a beat. 💙

09/26/2026

Global ARCH at side event puts patient organizations in the spotlight!

“If governments genuinely want patient and family voices reflected in decisions, they must invest in the organizations that carry those voices.

Because meaningful patient engagement is not simply giving people a microphone. It means giving them a seat at the table – and the resources, information, and support to make that seat count.”

Read more: https://global-arch.org/news/unga-2026-side-event-puts-patient-partners-in-the-spotlight/

Children's HeartLink American Heart Associationt Siemens GE and Business Council for International Understanding (BCIU)

09/11/2026

We’re proud to join Children’s HeartLink and the World Heart Federation this World Heart Day for “Uniting for Global Action: Advancing Policy for Childhood-Onset Heart Disease.”
Join us on September 30 at 8:00 AM EDT / 2:00 PM CEST as we come together to strengthen global action, advance policy, and help ensure that every child and adult living with childhood-onset heart disease has access to the diagnosis, treatment, and lifelong care they need.
Register using the link in the original post or the QR code below.

♥ Join Children's HeartLink, World Heart Federation and Global ARCH on September 30 at 8 AM EDT as we recognize World Heart Day. Together, we'll explore the resilience of those living with congenital heart disease and explore how millions could have healthier, longer lives through equitable access to diagnosis, treatment and care.

Register here to be a part of the movement for change: https://lnkd.in/gwvhEwu3

09/08/2026

SAVE THE DATE!

Please join Global Alliance for Rheumatic and Congenital Hearts
Children's HeartLink World Heart Federation and the Global Coalition on September 30 at 8 AM EDT for a webinar in celebration of World Heart Day.

This webinar will bring together global leaders, policymakers, clinicians, patient advocates, and civil society organizations to demonstrate why childhood-onset heart disease must become a global health priority.

It will also mobilize support for a World Health Assembly Resolution that ensures every childhood-onset heart disease patient has access to quality heart care throughout life.

Please join us!

https://us06web.zoom.us/webinar/register/WN_PJcVX9nmRx60qrSMTcGqaA #/registration

09/07/2026

Tomorrow is our Global ARCH Leaders’ Forum, a members-only space for connection, shared learning, and collaboration among patient and family organizations around the world.

Global ARCH, the Global Alliance for Rheumatic and Congenital Hearts, connects and strengthens patient and family organizations and allies working to improve lifelong care, support, rights, and outcomes for people living with childhood onset heart disease.

If your organization is not yet a member, we would love to welcome you. Membership is free for patient and family organizations worldwide and gives you access to a global community of 120+ organizations and allies across 53 countries, monthly Leaders’ Forums, shared resources, peer learning, and opportunities to amplify the voices of patients and families.

Leaders’ Forum
Tuesday, September 8
10:00 AM ET
Virtual via Zoom
For Global ARCH members

Not a member yet? DM us and join Global ARCH today and be part of this incredible global community.

08/25/2026

Remembering Belen Altuve Blanton
July 22 1965 - August 24, 2026

Some of you may already have heard the heartbreaking news that our beloved Belen Blanton has died following a stroke, after several days in the ICU with complications related to her heart and kidneys.

Belen was loved by everyone who knew her. She was positive, vibrant, beautiful, generous, and endlessly selfless. She never took for granted the gift of life she had been given—and from an early age, she made it her mission to give back to the congenital heart disease (CHD) community.

Born with tricuspid atresia in Venezuela in 1961, Belen was born at a time and in a place where lifesaving heart surgery was not available. Thankfully, her family was able to travel to the United States, where she received the surgery and lifelong medical care that gave her the opportunity to live.

And live she did. Belen built a happy, productive, deeply loved life—far beyond what anyone might have expected given the challenges she faced.

For more than six decades, she devoted herself to helping others. Through her nonprofit, Fundacion Estrellita de Belén Corp, she worked tirelessly to provide cardiac care to children from low-income families in Venezuela. She was also a cherished member of the Global ARCH family, serving as a board member and ambassador and lending her voice to countless awareness and advocacy initiatives—including speaking at the United Nations General Assembly in 2023.

Belen endured countless heart surgeries, hospitalizations, and difficult days with extraordinary grace, courage, and humour. Yet somehow, she always brought joy into the room. Her cheerful, sing-song voice, infectious positivity, fabulous outfits, and ever-changing nail polish will forever be part of how we remember her—even during the moments when it was clear how hard she was struggling to breathe.

Belen showed us what it means to turn a life saved into a life dedicated to saving and improving the lives of others.

Belen, we love you. You will always be a shining star in our Global ARCH family, and your light will continue to inspire the CHD community around the world. ⭐️❤️

Speaking at the United Nations General Assembly: https://youtu.be/5o7r0Mj7tq0?si=RvotkO2S6PrnBMlL

Belen AltuveBlanton

05/26/2026

🎉 Congratulations to Professor Liesl Zuhlke for winning the prestigious 2026 L’Oréal-UNESCO For Women in Science International Award Laureate for Africa and the Arab States in the field of Life and Environmental Sciences. Dr. Zuhlke is a founding member of the Global ARCH Medical Advisory Council and a true pioneer in treating children with rheumatic ( ) and congenital heart disease ( ), particularly in underserved populations.

Global ARCH has been extremely fortunate to have benefited from Dr. Zuhlke's guidance and vast wealth of knowledge and experience. We are very proud of you ❤️.

05/25/2026

Global ARCH is so proud of Suchismita Halder and her fellow moms for bucking the norms and getting published in a medical journal that challenges the status quo. The article - Challenges faced and lessons learnt while trying to review CHD care in India from parents’ perspective - will be all too familiar to non-medical advocates. It stresses "Incorporating lived experience into CHD policymaking is essential for creating pathways that are realistic, equitable, and aligned with the everyday challenges faced by the CHD
families."
Congratulations to all!

05/20/2026

For anyone who want to learn more about congenital heart disease and exercise this is a great article. Some exercise is almost always better than no exercise, no matter what the heart defect is.

What nobody told us parents about exercise — and what it has cost our children

05/02/2026

Global ARCH’s first Summit in Latin America brought together a powerful community united by a shared purpose. Across organizations, countries, and experiences, we came together to connect, learn, and move forward as one.

This is what collaboration looks like.
This is how change happens.

Together, we are building the future of lifelong care for childhood-onset heart disease.

A special thank you to Kardias for hosting us and making this gathering possible.

Thank you to the organizations who made this possible:
CardioChavitos, Menudos Corazones, Global ARCH, Corazón de Niño, Kardias, Fundación ABC, Bebe Cardio, Fundación María, Fundación Corazoncitos, Fundacion Latidos.

Be part of what comes next.

GlobalHealth HealthEquity StrongerTogether Collaboration HeartHealth NonprofitLeadership GlobalImpact