Your front page story “Japan wrestles with age-old problem as population declines at record rate” (Report, April 13) and the letter in the same edition from Tim Hill, “A gently declining population is no reason to panic”, both describe what all societies face as they modernise in the 21st century.

The Global Coalition on Aging (GCOA) has teamed up with local leaders to launch a community health initiative in Baltimore focused on addressing cardiovascular disease. Dubbed engAGE with Heart, the program claims to be the first of its kind and leverages six community partners in east and west Baltimore—four churches and two senior centers. Supported by Novartis, it is focused on reducing health inequities through community-led programming including health education, healthy food and preventive cardiovascular screening.