Ethiopia Plans for PEN-Plus Scale-Up

PEN-Plus partners and stakeholders met in Addis Ababa on October 19 to discuss Ethiopia’s national scale-up of PEN-Plus. This scale-up will expand the accessibility and availability of quality noncommunicable disease care at the country’s primary hospital level.

The Mathiwos Wondu–YeEthiopia Cancer Society and the Ethiopia Ministry of Health organized the meeting. Among those in attendance were representatives from the NCDI Poverty Network, PSI Ethiopia, Resolve to Save Lives, HelpAge International, the Ethiopian Diabetes Association, the Ethiopian Thoracic Society, the Ethiopian Heart Association, and Doctors with Africa CUAMM.

Lelisa Amanuel Jira, senior disease prevention and control advisor at the Ministry of Health, emphasized the importance of directing national attention to NCDs to achieve universal health coverage. The Ministry of Health’s work to provide treatment to people with NCDs aligns with PEN-Plus, he added, and the ministry is committed to scaling up PEN-Plus in response to the national need.

The meeting included presentations on the national NCD strategy, the progress of PEN-Plus in the region, PEN-Plus implementation milestones in Ethiopia, and PEN-Plus national operational planning.

In his presentation, Wondu Bekele, executive director of the Mathiwo Wondu–YeEthiopia Cancer Society, illustrated how the PEN-Plus clinics at Addis Zemen and Muketuri primary hospitals have improved the quality of health services through access to supplies and training of healthcare providers. The Mathiwo Wondu–YeEthiopia Cancer Society is the implementing partner for both sites.

During the meeting, PEN-Plus stakeholders in Ethiopia agreed to form a national technical working group to expedite the operational planning process.

The Ministry of Health will lead in developing a national operational plan by October 2024.