Photo Gallery: Circle of Life

Sbongiseni Duma leads members of the Broadway cast of Disney’s The Lion King in singing “One by One” in Zulu. Like many of his fellow performers, Duma is from South Africa.

In September, representatives of a range of NCDI Poverty Network partners attended Springboard for Action, an event celebrating progress toward global access to care for people living with severe, chronic noncommunicable diseases. The event also marked the official launch of the PEN-Plus Partnership Strategic Plan (2025–2028).

During the event program, leaders from the World Health Organization’s Regional Office for Africa, UNICEF, and Nigeria’s Ministry of Health and Social Welfare all shared remarks that reaffirmed the organizations’ commitment to delivering healthcare and hope to those who need it most through PEN-Plus, an innovative healthcare delivery model. Before starting the main portion of the program, though, the event emcee, Kyle Banks—also a long-time member of the Broadway cast of Disney’s The Lion King—introduced 13 of his fellow cast members. The performers, many of whom are South African, gave the audience of more than a hundred guests spirited renditions of “The Circle of Life” and “One by One.”