Heart Afya Campaign

Heart Afya is UAPO’s national campaign to detect and reduce cardiovascular disease (CVD) risks in underserved regions. The program deploys mobile screening units (portable ECG devices and trained technicians), runs community screening days, organizes referral pathways to district hospitals, and delivers public education on hypertension, lifestyle risk reduction, and early warning signs of heart disease. The campaign combines outreach with provider-capacity building (training primary care clinicians in ECG interpretation and triage) and policy advocacy to improve access to cardiac diagnostics and medications.

Key components:

• Mobile screening days with portable ECG and BP screening.

• Training for local clinicians on basic ECG reading and referral protocols.

• Patient navigation — follow-up, referral assistance and transport support for high-risk patients.

• Health education campaigns (radio spots, community talks, printed materials).

• Data collection and mapping to identify hotspots and inform policy.

Objectives & KPIs

• Objective 1: Screen 10,000 adults for CVD risk across X districts in 12 months.

  • KPI: Number screened; % with elevated BP; % with abnormal ECG needing follow up.

• Objective 2: Increase timely referrals to cardiac services.

  • KPI: Number and % of referred patients reaching follow-up care within 30 days.

• Objective 3: Build local clinical capacity.

  • KPI: # clinicians trained; pre/post training knowledge improvement.

• Objective 4: Raise community knowledge about heart disease.

  • KPI: % increase in community awareness (surveyed), number of radio spots aired, educational material distributed.

Typical Activities (implementation)

• Deploy 1 mobile screening van per region or partner with health camps.

• Train 2–3 local clinicians per district in ECG basics and referral triage.

• Run 1–2 day screening events in markets/church days with community mobilizers.

• Produce short radio spots in local languages about hypertension and chest pain.