LUCKNOW, July 13 -- Aiming to eliminate Rheumatic Heart Disease (RHD) from Uttar Pradesh within the next decade, Sanjay Gandhi Postgraduate Institute of Medical Sciences (PGI) held a high-level meeting of the Scientific Advisory Committee (SAC) to launch the 'RHD Roko Initiative'-a first-of-its-kind, large-scale, collaborative programme. Partha Sarthi Sen Sharma, principal secretary of medical education, who is also heading the programme, stressed the need to integrate the programme with existing state government health programmes by actively involving Rashtriya Bal Swasthya Karyakram (RBSK) foot soldiers. "This would make this initiative scalable and implementable," he said. "This would make the initiative scalable and implementable," he said. The Initiative, launched in collaboration with the UP government and Stanford Biodesign, marks India's first statewide drive to eliminate rheumatic heart disease. The meeting brought together leading clinicians, scientists, public health experts, and stakeholders from across India and abroad, unified by a bold and shared vision. Prof RK Dhiman, PGI director said that such models show how global innovation and local implementation can come together to solve complex health challenges and PGI would be proud to support this initiative. Prof Aditya Kapoor, head of cardiology, highlighted the existing burden of RHD in India and opined that a verbal questionnaire coupled with an AI-stethoscope would help in picking up undetected RHD cases that could be further screened by echocardiography. Prof SK Agarwal, HoD cardiovascular and thoracic surgery, dwelt upon the importance of capacity-building at the district level to ensure early intervention and reduce the long-term burden of RHD. Experts from Stanford Biodesign, USA, Prof Anurag Mairal, Dr Saolni Doshi, Dr Jagdish Chaturvedi and director at American Heart Association Strategically Focused Children's Research Network Dr Craig Sable were present. Executive director of paediatric cardiology at Fortis Escorts, Delhi Dr Anita Saxena; Dr Prakash Raj Regmi, programme director at Nepal Heart Foundation; Dr Aurpit Patnaik, Dr Rohitashwa Kumar and Dr Satyabrata Routray from PATH; Dr Rohit Singh from Edwards Lifesciences and Dr Charit Bhograj from India's vibrant indigenous health technology innovation ecosystem-Tricog outlined the potential workflow of the programme. DR SK Gautam, Dr Reshma Masood, designated representatives from the UP National Health Mission were also present. The project will operate through a multi-tiered clinical pathway, beginning with initial screening using a simple questionnaire, followed by murmur detection through an AI-enabled digital stethoscope, and confirmation via echocardiography at district hospitals. The confirmed cases will be referred to SGPGIMS for tertiary care. The committee will play a key role in developing and refining clinical protocols, monitoring implementation efficiency, and designing training programs for district early intervention centers (DEICs), primary health centres (PHCs), and community health centres (CHCs) across the state....