The time is especially opportune, since the principal components of an intervention program that would reduce stroke and heart attack rates in high risk individuals by more than a half can now be purchased for a few cents per day.

The challenge in low- and middle-income countries is to formulate programs that:

		can be delivered by primary health staff using the existing infrastructure
		positively influence health promoting behaviors
		result in minimum disruption to other important health services (e.g. maternal and child health care)
		can be reliably targeted to those at highest risk, who suffer a large proportion of the total disease burden
		are accessible to those in lower socioeconomic groups
		are acceptable to both recipients and providers

In addition to this priority area, IC health will also continue its work in the following areas:

		assessment of the global and regional economic consequences of cardiovascular disease and diabetes
		assessment of current cardiovascular research activity and investment in low- and middle- income countries
		assessment of existing capacity for the control of cardiovascular disease in low- and middle -income countries background
		investigation of the causes of cardiovascular diseases and the consequences of diabetes in low and middle-income countries