CARDIOVASCULAR JOURNAL OF AFRICA • Vol 22, No 3, May/June 2011
AFRICA
123
PASCAR entered a period of stagnation from 1998 to 2003;
no PASCAR meetings were held during this period. Members of
PASCAR were, however, becoming more prominently involved
in international meetings, such as the American College of
Cardiology, European Society of Cardiology, and the Asian
Pacific Society of Cardiology. PASCAR had also been repre-
sented at the World Heart Federation meetings ever since that
organisation’s inception.
Revival
October 2004 marked the renaissance of PASCAR. The seventh
congress successfully convened inAccra, Ghana and heralded the
point at which the Society came out of hibernation, with discus-
sions of constitutional reforms and a new executive committee.
In keeping with this rebirth, the theme of the congress was
‘preventing cardiovascular disease in Africa: a time for concerted
effort’. It was also an important meeting in terms of redefining
the scientific mission of PASCAR: US cardiologist Dr Richard
Cooper gave a well-received lecture on the cost effectiveness of
research, and genetic research in particular. Similarly, the first
talks on creating the
Cardiovascular Journal of Africa
were held.
The energy from the Accra congress was maintained into the
following year. The first all-Africa workshop on rheumatic fever
and rheumatic heart disease was held in 2005, leading to the
so-called Drakensberg Declaration, which established Africa-
specific policies for prevention and control of this disease.
1,2
Further progress was made in establishing the academic activi-
ties and a journal for PASCAR. At the Drakensberg meeting,
Prof Andries Brink initiated and led an effort to form the new
Cardiovascular Journal of Africa
as a journal for PASCAR,
based on the established
Cardiovascular Journal of Southern
Africa
, which he had founded 16 years before. This new journal
quickly became the definitive academic cardiology journal on
the continent and is accredited by all the world’s important data-
bases. It is the most widely consulted source of information on
cardiovascular disease in Africa.
3
During the following years, PASCAR continued to grow in
influence and reach on the African continent. In May 2007, the
eighth PASCAR congress was held in Nairobi, Kenya. This meet-
ing attracted over 300 participants from countries in all regions
of Africa and beyond. A similarly global audience attended the
ninth PASCAR congress in Abuja, Nigeria in September 2009.
These conferences have confirmed the role of PASCAR as the
premier umbrella association for national professional societies
in cardiovascular medicine and surgery on the continent.
A bright future
The fortunes of the Pan-African Society of Cardiology have been
closely intertwined with the history of Africa herself. In this era
of the African renaissance, inspired men and women have come
forth, working together to address the cardiovascular health of
their continent while celebrating their geographic, cultural and
intellectual diversity. Despite the burdens of history and the
immense task that lies ahead, PASCAR is full of vitality and is
poised to lead the continent, and eventually the world, in finding
solutions to the cardiovascular challenges of the 21st century.
The authors thank the following individuals for their contributions of histori-
cal material, and for critical review of the manuscript: Prof Albert Amoah,
Ghana; Prof Ayodele Falase, Nigeria; Dr George Mensah, USA; Prof Samuel
Kingue, Cameroon; Prof Charles Yankah, Germany; and Prof Oluwole
Adebo, Nigeria.
DAVID A WATKINS, MD
BONGANI M MAYOSI, DPhil, FCP (SA), bongani.mayosi@
uct.ac.za
Department of Medicine, University of Cape Town, South
Africa
SAMUEL I OMOKHODION, FMCP, FWACP
Division of Paediatric Cardiology, Department of Paediatrics,
College of Medicine, University College Hospital, Ibadan,
Nigeria
References
1.
Mayosi B, Robertson K, Volmink J, Adebo W, Akinyore K, Amoah A,
et
al
. The Drakensberg declaration on the control of rheumatic fever and
rheumatic heart disease in Africa.
S Afr Med J
2006;
96
(3 Pt 2): 246.
2.
Robertson KA, Volmink JA, Mayosi BM. Towards a uniform plan for
the control of rheumatic fever and rheumatic heart disease in Africa –
the Awareness Surveillance Advocacy Prevention (ASAP) Programme.
S Afr Med J
2006;
96
(3 Pt 2): 241–245.
3.
Cardiovascular Journal of Africa
(official journal of PASCAR). http://
(accessed 12 March 2011).
