WHO AFRO convenes meeting on “PEN-Plus” model for integrated services for severe, chronic NCDs

From 29 July - 1 August, 2019, The WHO Regional Office for Africa (WHO/AFRO) held a consultation highlighting progress and remaining challenges in decentralizing care for both common and severe NCDs among the most vulnerable populations.

The consultation provided an opportunity for member states to exchange updates on implementation of WHO’s Package of Essential NCD Services (PEN) for common NCDs and to disseminate and discuss progress toward a regional strategy for the complementary package for treatment of severe NCDs called PEN-Plus.

PEN-Plus incorporates integrated care teams to provide chronic care for severe NCDs such as type 1 diabetes, rheumatic heart disease, and sickle cell disease at first-level ( district) hospitals. WHO Rwanda and the Rwandan Ministry of Health partnered with WHO AFRO to co-host this meeting in Kigali, Rwanda.

The regional consultation brought together Ministries of Health and WHO Country Representatives from seventeen member states, including Benin, Botswana, Burkina Faso, Côte d’Ivoire, Eritrea, eSwatini, Ethiopia, Guinea, Kenya, Lesotho, Liberia, Malawi, Nigeria, Rwanda, Sierra Leone, Tanzania, and Uganda.

Partners In Health and Harvard Medical School supported the consultation, with PIH NCD and clinical leadership attending from Rwanda, Malawi, Liberia, Sierra Leone, Lesotho, Haiti and Boston. Colleagues also attended from the Clinton Health Access Initiative (CHAI), Pan-African Society of Cardiology (PASCAR), REACH, Rwanda Diabetes Association, the African Palliative Care Association (APCA), and the Global Sickle Cell Disease Network.

WHO AFRO’s full Report on the Regional Consultation is available here.