Network Steering Committee holds second meeting on May 5 to review and plan for progress

The NCDI Poverty Network Steering Committee held its second quarterly meeting on May 5, 2021, to review progress and map out plans to advance the Network’s four strategic initiatives. Attendees included: Network Co-Chairs Ana Mocumbi and Gene Bukhman; Committee members Yogesh Jain, Sharon Kapambwe, Biraj Karmacharya, Jones Masiye, Mary Nyamongo, and Santigie Sesay; and staff from the Network Co-Secretariat teams based in Boston, USA, and Maputo, Mozambique.

The meeting agenda featured two main sessions.

The first session focused on Network structure and organization, with updates on progress in:

• building the Co-Secretariat team in Mozambique;

• applications for membership in the NCDI Poverty Network and PEN-Plus Partnership received through an online portal on the ncdipoverty.org website;

• plans to establish a Network Advisory Group, which will be deferred until later in 2021 pending further discussion and review; and

• ongoing and upcoming events, including Financing Roundtables, consultations with disease-specific constituencies for PEN-Plus, Learning Workshops for new Phase 1 countries, and Knowledge Exchanges for all Network members.

In the second session, the Steering Committee reviewed and discussed progress on the Network’s four strategic initiatives:

• Strategic Initiative #1 – Expanding the Network

  • Kick-off meetings for 3 of the 7 new Phase 1 Commissions – Benin, Cameroon, and Nigeria. Planning for launch meetings proceeding in Ghana, Democratic Republic of Congo, Burkina Faso, and Cambodia;

  • Learning Workshop series for new Phase 1 Commissions launched on March 17 with session focused on “Measuring the NCDI burden of disease and socioeconomic disaggregation”, with participation from all 7 new countries; and

  • First cohort of four Voices of NCDI Poverty Advocacy Fellows selected, including people living with T1D, RHD, and sickle cell disease, and a childhood cancer survivor.

• Strategic Initiative #2 – Integration Science

  • Applications received from four countries – Kenya, Liberia, Nepal, and Sierra Leone – to initiate Phase 2 Commission work focused on baseline assessment of facilities and NCDI services and integrated service delivery design; and

  • Report from Dr. Wubaye Walelgne on a facility study in Ethiopia that surveyed 39 facilities at different levels of the health system across 4 regions

• Strategic Initiative #3 – PEN-Plus Partnership

  • A series of consultations held with disease-specific organizations focused on T1D, RHD, and SCD to engage technical partners in cross-cutting support areas, including education and training, monitoring & evaluation, and advocacy and fundraising;

  • Three new countries – Mozambique, Tanzania, and Ethiopia – are finalizing plans to initiate implementation of PEN-Plus by establishing pilot clinics and training sites.

• Strategic Initiative #4 – National Scale-Up and NCDI Poverty Fund

  • Helmsley Charitable Trust and the Network Secretariat convened the second in a series of Financing Roundtables for current and potential funding partners on March 11, focused on private sector funding opportunities for companies that produce medicines, equipment and supplies used at PEN-Plus clinics. A third roundtable for bilateral and multilateral funding institutions will be held on June 17.

  • Funding has been obtained to support initiation of implementation of PEN-Plus in Tanzania and Ethiopia, and progress is being made to secure funding for initiation in Mozambique,Nepal, Sierra Leone, and Uganda.

Committee decisions and action points going forward

After reviewing and discussing presentations on progress and plans, the Steering Committee agreed on the following key decisions and actions to be taken in the coming months:

• Voices of NCDI Poverty Fellows to be finalized and representatives to be included in the next Steering Committee meeting

• Nominees to be selected for vacant Steering Committee seats (2 Francophone seats, 1 West Africa alternate)

• Advisory group composition and selections to be determined after further partnership meetings

• Phase II commission applications to proceed in Kenya, Liberia, Sierra Leone, and Nepal

• Secretariat to continue engaging Steering Committee members for convenings/consultations and specific Network activities, including Knowledge Exchange webinars

• Next committee meeting to be scheduled for late summer