News and Stories


PEN-Plus in Action Introduces a Global Partnership to Fight Severe, Chronic NCDs
Susan Donnellan Susan Donnellan

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.

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Zambia NCDI Poverty Commission Announces PEN-Plus Initiation
Susan Donnellan Susan Donnellan

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.

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Network Promotes PEN-Plus at 4th Global Congress on Sickle Cell Disease
Allison Westervelt Allison Westervelt

Network Promotes PEN-Plus at 4th Global Congress on Sickle Cell Disease

A team that included NCDI Poverty Network Co-Chair Dr. Gene Bukhman, Voices Advocacy Fellow Eunice Owino, and Advocacy & Training Associate Lauren Brown traveled to Paris in June to represent the Network and promote PEN-Plus at the 4th Global Congress on Sickle Cell Disease (SCD).

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WHO Leaders Discuss PEN-Plus at the World Health Assembly
Allison Westervelt Allison Westervelt

WHO Leaders Discuss PEN-Plus at the World Health Assembly

Leaders from the World Health Organization Regional Office for Africa (WHO AFRO), WHO Headquarters, and other stakeholders invested in the implementation of PEN-Plus met in Geneva on 24 May to discuss PEN-Plus as a key strategy for decentralizing care for severe NCDs and providing the world’s most vulnerable with accessible and affordable health care for chronic conditions including type 1 diabetes (T1D), sickle cell disease (SCD), and rheumatic and congenital heart disease (RHD/CHD).

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Network Co-Chairs Dr. Ana Mocumbi and Dr. Gene Bukhman Travel to Sofala Province Ahead of PEN-Plus Implementation in Mozambique
Allison Westervelt Allison Westervelt

Network Co-Chairs Dr. Ana Mocumbi and Dr. Gene Bukhman Travel to Sofala Province Ahead of PEN-Plus Implementation in Mozambique

NCDI Poverty Network Co-Chair Dr. Ana Mocumbi and the Mozambique Co-Secretariat and Southern Africa Regional Hub team recently hosted NCDI Poverty Network Co-Chair Dr. Gene Bukhman and Director of Programs Dr. Emily Wroe for a three-day visit to the provinces of Maputo and Sofala as Mozambique prepares to implement PEN-Plus.

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Phase 1 Commissions Learn From Each Other in Fifth Learning Workshop
Allison Westervelt Allison Westervelt

Phase 1 Commissions Learn From Each Other in Fifth Learning Workshop

For the first time on 25 May, NCDI Poverty Commissions that launched in 2021 and are working on Phase 1 of the Commission process – situation analysis and priority-setting – presented to other Phase I Commission teams in the fifth Learning Workshop titled “Learning From each other - progress updates from Nigeria and Cameroon.”

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New Knowledge Exchange Series Kicks Off
Allison Westervelt Allison Westervelt

New Knowledge Exchange Series Kicks Off

The NCDI Poverty Network’s new Knowledge Exchange series kicked off on 30 March with over 80 participants meeting online to discuss the importance of prioritizing severe NCDs and injuries that impact children and young adults living in extreme poverty as a key to achieving universal health coverage.

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