News and Features
From Words to Action
The first International Conference on PEN-Plus in Africa provided a platform for health experts, policymakers, civil society organization representatives, donors, people living with noncommunicable diseases, and community advocates to expedite political and financial backing for PEN-Plus.
Experts Showcased PEN-Plus in Southern Africa at the International Conference on Public Health in Africa
The NCDI Poverty Network and the Centre for Infectious Disease Research in Zambia (CIDRZ) hosted a side event, “PEN-Plus Partnership: An NCDI Poverty Network Initiative in Partnership with WHO/AFRO,” on 29 November at the 3rd International Conference on Public Health in Africa, held in Lusaka, Zambia.
CPHIA Side Event to Focus on PEN-Plus in Southern Africa
The Southern Africa Regional Hub of the NCDI Poverty Network and the Centre for Infectious Disease Research in Zambia (CIDRZ) will co-host a side event during the Third Annual International Conference on Public Health in Africa (CPHIA), which will take place at the Mulungushi International Conference Center in Lusaka, Zambia, on 27–30 November.
Southern Africa Regional Hub Celebrates First Anniversary
The Maputo co-secretariat of the NCDI Poverty Network, based at Universidade Eduardo Mondlane, hosted an event marking the first anniversary of the establishment of both the Southern Africa Regional Hub and the Maputo co-secretariat of the NCDI Poverty Network on 1 February. The event encouraged discussion on how the Hub can support countries in the region in implementing the PEN-Plus model.
PEN-Plus in Action Introduces a Global Partnership to Fight Severe, Chronic NCDs
More than 60 representatives of leading global health policy, technical, advocacy, and financing institutions and people living with NCDs gathered at UNICEF House in New York on September 15, 2022, to introduce the PEN-Plus Partnership, a major international initiative to address the global burden of severe NCDs and injuries that cause more than 500,000 avoidable deaths every year among children and young adults living in extreme poverty.
Zambia NCDI Poverty Commission Announces PEN-Plus Initiation
The Zambia Ministry of Health (MOH) and the Centre for Infectious Disease Research in Zambia (CIDRZ) officially launched the Zambia NCDI Poverty Commission Report on 29 June 2022 in Lusaka and announced that they will initiate PEN-Plus services at two district hospitals in the coming months.
Network Co-Chair Gene Bukhman visits Lusaka, as Zambia prepares to initiate PEN-Plus services
As Zambia prepares to open its first two PEN-Plus clinics, NCDI Poverty Network Co-Chair Gene Bukhman traveled to Lusaka in mid-May.
Network Co-Secretariat and Southern Africa Regional Hub Launched
Leading NCDI policy makers, researchers, care providers, and advocates, including the Minister of Health, His Excellency Dr. Armindo Tiago, and Dr. Orlando António Quilambo, Rector of Universidade Eduardo Mondlane (UEM), convened in Maputo on 27 October for the launch of the Mozambique Co-Secretariat and Southern Africa Regional Hub of the NCDI Poverty Network, which will be based at UEM.