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 Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) NCDI Poverty Commission convened from 25-26 October to review NCDI data as part of a priority-setting meeting.

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. 

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 event brought together all major cardiac partners—including representatives of the World Health Organization’s country office and Rwanda’s major academic institutions—to participate in the certification of PEN-Plus cardiac Master Trainers and engage in a discussion for its implications and further planning at the national level.

In March and May, 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, which was offered in partnership with Team Heart, Partners in Health Rwanda, and the NCDI Poverty Network, focused on developing the skills needed to diagnose and treat heart failure in rural district hospitals.

In May, eight PEN-Plus providers in Zimbabwe received initial training in performing and interpreting echocardiograms. Those eight providers—along seven others—were also trained in managing heart failure.