Petition featuring Baby Keyaan’s story tops WHF’s 2025 World Heart Day campaign

The heart heath advocacy petition submitted by Tiny Hearts of Maldives, featuring the story of Keyaan, the son of the NGO’s founders Ali Muaz and Fathimath Hishmath Faiz, has gathered hundreds of signatures in a few short days, making it the highest ranked petition in a global campaign launched by the World Heart Federation (WHF) to mark World Heart Day.

With this year marking the 25^th anniversary of World Heart Day, WHF has launched a global campaign called ‘Don’t Miss a Beat’, raising awareness that cardiovascular disease (CVD) is preventable.

As part of the campaign, the WHF partnered with Change.org to launch 10 global petitions calling on governments to expand care and screening for high blood pressure — an urgent step that could save millions of lives.

The Tiny Hearts of Maldives’ founding story, that of Baby Keyaan, has been selected and featured among these ten global stories. This petition, introduced on August 28, has now gathered over 570 signatures.

Jeehan Mahmood, the chairperson of Tiny Hearts of Maldives, told Sun on Saturday morning that while the petition has received endorsements from people from other countries, most of the signatures are coming from the Maldives.

She said the NGO hopes the petition will continue to garner support, placing the Maldives and the heart health struggles of Maldivian children and communities on the global map, highlighting the urgent need for action on CVD — the number one killer in the country, responsible for 37 percent of all deaths in Maldives.

Jeehan said the WHF aims to present the petition at fourth UN High-Level Meeting on Noncommunicable Diseases (HLM4) – which is scheduled to take place on September 25, during the UN General Assembly in New York.

More deadly than cancer, heart disease claims around 20 million lives a year and is the reason that one in five people die early.

Medication to reduce high blood pressure - a major risk factor for heart disease - saves lives by preventing heart attacks, heart failure, and strokes.

But four in five people are not getting the treatment they need to control their blood pressure.

The campaign by the World Heart Federation calls on governments to act now and commit to helping some 500 million more people get the treatment they need by 2030.

Jeehan, a former lawmaker, noted a lack of investment by countries, including the Maldives, on heart disease prevention, such as routine screenings.

“Countries, including the Maldives, do not invest in screenings. There are no systemic public heart screenings by the government in the Maldives. Screening is the most important step for prevention. But there isn’t any investment in this,” she said.

Jeehan also expressed concern over a lack of government investment to ensure equitable access to heart disease treatment, especially for those living in outer lying islands.

“Through the UN, we are lobbying for all governments to commit to prevention and treatment of heart disease. This petition is pushing governments to invest more on this,” she said.

“Tiny Hearts is proud to be a part of this.”

Baby Keyaan, and the birth of Tiny Hearts of Maldives

Keyaan was born on July 8, 2008, as a seemingly healthy baby boy. But just days later, a nurse noticed his lips, nails, and even his tiny body was turning blue.

It was then that his parents learned Keyaan had Tetralogy of Fallot (TOF) – a type of critical congenital heart defect (CHD).

They had never heard of CHD before. Didn’t know what it meant, and were completely unprepared for what was coming.

On day five, they were told their son needed emergency surgery to survive. With the help of family and friends, they managed to fly to Cochin, India, where surgeons performed life-saving shunt surgery, which was followed by days of intensive treatment.

They brought Keyaan home to the Maldives on day 47. After his first surgery and returnhome, Keyaan was able to enjoy a brief but beautiful time surrounded by love and comfort. He recovered well and brought light and joy to everyone around him.

But this moment of peace didn’t last.

Keyaan’s health took a sudden turn, and he once again needed timely and critical care – care that was not available in the Maldives at that time. On day 78, his parents rushed him to India again on an emergency flight.

This time, they couldn’t save him. Keyaan lost his fight against CHD.

Out of their heartbreak, they made a promise: no parent should ever have to face this alone. No child should lose their life because of delayed diagnosis, lack of awareness, or limited access to care.

That promise became Tiny Hearts of Maldives, officially registered on July 8, 2009 – on what would have been Keyaan’s first birthday.

Today, Tiny Hearts of Maldives fights for every tiny heart – from newborns with congenital heart defects (CHDs) to children and families affected by cardiovascular diseases (CVDs). For the last years, they’ve been on a relentless mission to save and improve lives across the country.