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Policy
The NCDI Poverty Network supports health leaders as they develop policies that prioritize equitable, cost-effective health interventions.
National NCDI Poverty Commissions—which are composed of Ministry of Health policymakers, clinicians, academic researchers, health planning and financing experts, implementing partners and donors, and people living with severe conditions—are the backbone of the NCDI Poverty Network.
The Network’s Policy Team works with National Commissions to develop policies that prioritize equitable, cost-effective interventions to address severe conditions disproportionately affecting children and young adults living in extreme poverty. In particular, the Policy Team supports National Commissions in countries that have recently joined the Network in working through the first phase of the Network’s Four-Phase Theory of Change: Situation Analysis and Priority-Setting.
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During this first phase of the Network process, National Commissions analyze the national burden of NCDs and injuries, disaggregated by age, sex, and socioeconomic status, and assess the availability and coverage of NCDI services at different levels of the health system, in order to understand disparities in prevalence, access to services, and outcomes for poor and marginalized populations. Based on findings from this situation analysis, Commissions then prioritize conditions and interventions to address the burden, taking into account both cost-effectiveness and equity, and estimate the cost and potential impact of prioritized interventions as well as the fiscal space required to implement them. Finally, Commission members disseminate their key findings and recommendations to elevate equitable access to care and treatment for severe conditions that disproportionately impact the poorest children and young adults as a priority for national policies and financing.
The Policy Team supports countries through this process by:
Sharing analytical frameworks, methods, and tools developed by the Lancet NCDI Poverty Commission, as well as a priority-setting tool developed in collaboration with the Center for Integration Science in Global Health Equity research team and the Bergen Center for Ethics in Priority-Setting;
Facilitating exchanges of experience and lessons learned with more than a dozen countries that have successfully completed this phase; and
Assisting with preparation and dissemination of reports summarizing their key findings and recommendations.
Policy and National Commission Updates
The NCDI Poverty Network—through one of its co-secretariats, the Center for Integration Science in Global Health Equity at Brigham and Women’s Hospital—has joined UNICEF in publishing a report on the burden on noncommunicable diseases on children, adolescents, and young adults in South Asia.
After several years of hard work, members of the Nigeria NCDI Poverty Commission have published their final Phase 1 report.
On September 24, the Network officially published the PEN-Plus Partnership Strategic Plan (2025–2028). “It is our commitment, our testimony, and our witness to the collective progress of NCDI Poverty Network partners in delivering healthcare and hope to people in lower-income countries,” said Dr. Gene Bukhman, co-chair of the Network.
The NCDI Poverty Commission of the Democratic Republic of the Congo has published its final Phase 1 report.
In early June, delegations from all eight countries in UNICEF ROSA—the Regional Office for South Asia—convened in Kathmandu for a three-day workshop on severe childhood-onset noncommunicable diseases.
In early June, delegations from all eight countries in UNICEF ROSA—the Regional Office for South Asia—convened in Kathmandu for a three-day workshop on severe childhood-onset noncommunicable diseases.
In recognition of World Sickle Cell Day on June 19, a Lancet Haematology editorial cited both PEN-Plus and the first International Conference on PEN-Plus in Africa as initiatives that can help ensure improved access to diagnosis, treatment, and care for people living with sickle cell disease in low- and middle-income countries.
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.
The Uganda Ministry of Health, the local government of the Kumi District, and the Uganda Initiative for Integrated Management of Noncommunicable Diseases hosted a celebration of the launch of PEN-Plus in Uganda on 23 November.
PEN-Plus partners and stakeholders met in Addis Ababa on October 19 to discuss Ethiopia’s national scaleup of PEN-Plus. This scaleup will expand the accessibility and availability of quality noncommunicable disease care at the country’s primary hospital level.
The NCDI Poverty Commission of the Democratic Republic of the Congo convened in late October to review noncommunicable disease data as part of a priority-setting meeting.
An opinion article published this month in The BMJ spotlights the PEN-Plus strategy as a new hope for improving chronic disease care in sub-Saharan Africa.
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.
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.
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.
The WHO Regional Office for Africa (WHO/AFRO) and the Center for Integration Science in Global Health Equity (CIS) met in Accra, Ghana, from 17 to 19 July to discuss the region’s PEN-Plus implementation strategy.
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.
On 2 June, Mozambique Minister of Health H.E. Dr. Armindo Daniel Tiago visited the PEN-Plus clinic at Nhamatanda Rural Hospital.
The Kenya Ministry of Health, the county government of Vihiga, and NCD Alliance Kenya hosted a celebration of the launch of PEN-Plus in Kenya on June 19.
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.
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.
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.
The Cambodia NCDI Poverty Commission members took a big step in March 2023 when they reviewed key findings of the country’s situation analysis and conducting a workshop to form recommendations on which noncommunicable conditions and interventions to prioritize based on burden, severity, and equity.
The Bangladesh NCDI Poverty Commission held its first meeting on 26 October at the Directorate General of Medical Education in Dhaka, increasing the number of countries participating in the NCDI Poverty Network to 22.