News and Stories
Language Matters: Both a PEN-Plus Primer and Promise
The NCDI Poverty Network has produced “Language Matters,” a primer intended to sensitize PEN-Plus providers to the communication nuances involved in caring for people living with severe, chronic noncommunicable diseases.
Benin Commission Meets for Situation Analysis and Priority Setting
In August, the Benin NCDI Poverty Commission convened at the Ministry of Health in Haie-Vive to review NCDI data for an initial situation analysis. The goal of the three-day workshop was to establish a framework to outline the prioritization of needs and identify appropriate interventions.
Integration Science Study on the Delivery Status of High-Priority Clinical Services Launched
In August, the NCDI Poverty Network’s Maputo Co-Secretariat launched an integration science study designed to generate information on the delivery status of high-priority clinical services for people with noncommunicable diseases at 20 facilities in Mozambique, Cameroon, and Nigeria.
Center for Integration Science Joins Africa CDC Workshop on Noncommunicable Diseases
The Center for Integration Science in Global Health Equity participated in an Africa CDC/African Union workshop, “Non-Communicable Diseases, Injuries, and Mental Health Surveillance: Situational Analysis and Peer Learning,” in July 2023 in Ghana.
Network Cohosts National Cardiac Technical Working Group
In May, the NCDI Poverty Network, in partnership with the Rwanda Ministry of Health and with support from Team Heart, launched a national Cardiac Technical Working Group.
PEN-Plus Providers in Zimbabwe Receive Cardiac Training
In May, eight PEN-Plus providers in Zimbabwe received initial training in performing and interpreting echocardiograms. Those eight providers—along with seven others—were also trained in managing heart failure.
Building Solidarity for Severe, Chronic Noncommunicable Diseases: Team PEN-Plus Runs in Support
“I run in support of the millions of people worldwide who live with type 1 diabetes,” said Dr. Apoorva Gomber, associate advocacy director of the Center for Integration Science in Global Health Equity at Brigham and Women’s Hospital. “I’ve run a marathon before and fundraised in the past. Still, this event was special because of the person who motivated my fundraising.”
Burkina Faso Commission Convenes for Situation Analysis Meeting
Members of the Burkina Faso NCDI Poverty Commission met at the Ministry of Health offices in Ouagadougou in early May to review national NCDI data as part of an initial situation analysis.
Rwanda Makes Strides in Cardiac Care Capacity
This spring, the Ministry of Health of Rwanda offered two weeks of practical training for 24 nurses and doctors from a dozen PEN-Plus district hospitals. The training—provided in partnership with the Network, Team Heart, and Partners In Health Rwanda—focused on the skills needed to diagnose and treat heart failure in rural district hospitals.
Cameroon NCDI Poverty Commission Meets Ahead of Report Dissemination
Members of the Cameroon NCDI Poverty Commission met in Yaounde on May 10 to review the results of their situation analysis and priority-setting work on the country’s noncommunicable disease burden. Attending were leaders and representatives of both the Ministry of Health and the country office of the World Health Organization.
Apoorva Gomber Delivers Impassioned Plea at UN Hearing
“Where a child lives should not determine whether a child lives,” declared Dr. Apoorva Gomber, associate advocacy director for the NCDI Poverty Network. “And yet children with type 1 diabetes in rural areas of sub-Saharan Africa often die within a year of diagnosis. This reality is morally unconscionable.”
Master Trainer Leads Echocardiography Training for PEN-Plus Providers in Malawi
As part of Malawi’s efforts to scale up PEN-Plus nationally, clinical officers and nurses from two expansion sites in Salima and Karonga recently completed two weeks of echocardiography training at the PEN-Plus training site and clinics established in Neno by the Ministry of Health and Partners In Health Malawi.
Ghana NCDI Poverty Commission Holds Launch Meeting
The Ghana NCDI Poverty Commission held its kickoff meeting on 5 October 2022 at Korle Bu Teaching Hospital in Accra, Ghana.