NCDI Poverty Network and PIH Host PEN-Plus Side Event at Africa Public Health Conference
The NCDI Poverty Network and Partners in Health hosted a side event titled “Caring for People Living with Severe Chronic NCDs: Practical Lessons Learned from Early PEN-Plus Initiatives” on 14 December at the 2nd International Conference on Public Health in Africa (CPHIA) in Kigali, Rwanda.
The event featured clinicians sharing lessons from four countries where PIH and Ministries of Health have already implemented the PEN-Plus model for decentralizing delivery of chronic care services for severe NCDs like type 1 diabetes, rheumatic and congenital heart disease, and sickle cell disease – Rwanda, Malawi, Liberia, and Sierra Leone. In August, the 47 member states of the WHO/AFRO region unanimously adopted PEN-Plus as a regional strategy to address severe NCDs at first-level hospitals.
Emily Wroe, Director of Programs for the NCDI Poverty Network and the Center for Integration Science, provided opening remarks to introduce PEN-Plus and served as MC for the side event, which included two panel discussions featuring speakers from the NCDI Poverty Network Secretariat and from PIH and Ministry of Health clinicians and policy makers.
The first panel focused on “Lessons from providers on implementing clinics for patients with severe NCDs.” Noel Taonga Kasomekera of the Malawi Ministry of Health facilitated the discussion among five panelists:
Symaque Dusabeyezu, NCD Program Manager, Inshuti Mu Buzima/PIH Rwanda
Medson Boti, PEN-Plus Clinical Officer, Abwenzi Pa Za Umoyo/PIH Malawi
Marta Patiño Rodriguez, Internal Medicine and Clinical Projects Consultant, PIH Sierra Leone
Remy Bitwayiki, Internal Medicine Consultant, PIH Sierra Leone
Cyrus Randolph, NCD Clinical Coordinator, PIH Liberia
The second panel, which was facilitated by NCDI Poverty Network East Africa Regional Advisor Wubaye Dagnaw, focused on “Leveraging early success for planning for national scale up” and featured the following speakers:
Gedeon Ngoga, Director of Training, Center for Integration Science and the NCDI Poverty Network and Technical Assistant, NCD training and Mentorship, Rwanda Biomedical Center
Francis Mutabazi, Clinical Officer, Rwanda MoH
Denyse Imanishimwe, Head of NCD Clinic, Butaro District Hospital, Rwanda MoH
Dennis Kamba, National Coordinator Diabetes Program, Liberia MoH
Noel Kasomekera, Technical Assistant MoH NCD Unit, Malawi
Panelists discussed results and lessons learned from PEN-Plus initiation and scale-up efforts in Rwanda, Malawi, Liberia, and Sierra Leone, as well as the challenges of implementation and strategies utilized to address them. The panels reviewed the components of PEN-Plus program design, training, data management, longitudinal mentorship, building of political will, and approaches to adopt a new model of care delivery at district hospitals. The event also focused on how we can create a learning community across the countries newly initiating PEN-Plus to incorporate lessons learned as well as how to work across policy, research, and financing spheres to meet the ambitious targets set forth by WHO/AFRO.