Malawi NCDI Poverty Commission

The Malawi NCDI Poverty Commission is co-chaired by Dr. Jones Kaponda Masiye (Ministry of Health, Malawi) and Dr. Emily Wroe (Partners In Health and NCDI Poverty Network), and composed of representatives from the Ministry of Health and supporting partners. Expert commissioners hail from the Malawi National NCD and Mental Health Unit, Kamuzu Central Hospital, Queen Elizabeth Central Hospital, Mzuzu Central Hospital, University of Malawi - College of Medicine, Partners In Health, Dignitas International, MEIRU, Lighthouse Trust, and Baobab Health Trust.

The Commission met for the second time in Lilongwe in February 2019 to discuss data analysis progress and set priority NCDI conditions. The meeting was broken into two workshops. In the first, Commissioners worked on determining a list of priority conditions based on Global Burden of Disease data and considering different metrics of burden and severity of disease and poverty. Commissioners then met in small groups and discussed the role of the identified conditions in the Malawian context. The second workshop focused on determining effective interventions known in Malawi or elsewhere that tackled these conditions. Moving forward, the Commission will finalize a list of priority conditions and interventions. Next steps will be to collect financial data on these interventions so that the Commission can advocate for priority interventions.

View the Malawi Commission Report

Commission Membership

Co-Chairs

Jones Kaponde Masiye - Deputy Director, Noncommunicable Disease, Ministry of Health, Malawi

Emily Wroe - Chief Medical Officer, Partners In Health Malawi

Commissioners

Alemayehu Ambersir - Epidemiologist, Dignitas International

Grace Banda - Emergency Medicine Specialist, Queen Elizabeth Central Hospital

Josh Berman - Research & Knowledge Translation Manager, Dignitas International

Sosten Chilumpha - Independent Consultant

John Chipolobwe - Physician, Mzuzu Central Hospital

Lilian Chunda - Head of the Medical Department, Kamuzu Central Hospital

Mia Crampin - Director, MEIRU

Katie Cundale - Research Fellow, Partners In Health Malawi

Luckson Dullie - Executive Director, Malawi, Partners In Health/Abwenzi Pa Za Umoyo

Beth Dunbar - Director of Monitoring and Evaluation, Partners In Health/Abwenzi Pa Za Umoyo

Satish Gopal - Cancer Program Director, Queen Elizabeth Central Hospital/ UNC Project-Malawi

Noel Kasomekera - NCD Technical Assistant, Ministry of Health, Malawi/Partners In Health

Chawanangwa Lupafya - Product Manager, Baobab Health Trust

Ronald Manjomo - Monitoring, Evaluation & Research, Baobab Health Trust

Leo Masamba - Oncologist, Queen Elizabeth Central Hospital

Jones Masiye - Ministry of Health, Malawi

Adamson Muula - Professor of Epidemiology and Public Health, College of Medicine - University of Malawi

Beatrice Mwagomba - Medical Director, Lighthouse Trust

Dan Namarika - Secretary for Health, Ministry of Health

Dominic Nkhoma - Chief of Planning, Ministry of Health

Moffat Nyirenda - NCD Theme Lead, MRC-UVRI Uganda

Colin Pfaff - District Medical Director, Dignitas International

Sam Phiri - Director, Lighthouse Trust

Michael Udedi - Assistant Director of NCDs and Mental Health, Ministry of Health, Malawi

Malawi Updates

Featured

Testing a Model for Depression Care in Malawi

NCDI Poverty Network members joined other researchers in assessing a mental health intervention that was integrated into an existing model of chronic care in Malawi. They found that such interventions can be inexpensive if they build off an existing infrastructure, involve lay personnel, and deliver therapy in a group format.

Challenging Assumptions for Low-Income Countries

A recently published study of people living with type 1 diabetes in two rural clinics in Malawi found a high level of acceptability and satisfaction among those using continuous glucose monitoring, suggesting that the technology is feasible in low-income settings.

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.

Integration Science Can Help Heal Global Health Inequities

Integration science can do more than deliver quality healthcare; it can also deliver global health equity solutions. That’s the central premise of “From Local Innovation to National Scale to Global Impact: Integration Science as an Engine of Change and an Agenda for Action,” the second annual symposium of the Center for Integration Science in Global Health Equity.

PEN-Plus: A Holistic Approach to Healthcare

“It is inconceivable that a 20-year-old man would weigh only 55 pounds,” said Bright Mailosi, a specialist in noncommunicable diseases. “So much could have been done to intervene when he was first diagnosed with type 1 diabetes. Although I wish PEN-Plus had arrived in Karonga years earlier, I’m excited that we’ve changed the narrative of how complex NCDs are managed in rural areas.”

Experts Showcase PEN-Plus in Southern 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.

Malawi NCDI Poverty Commission

Commission Membership

Co-Chairs

Commissioners

Malawi Updates

NCDI Poverty Network Co-Secretariats