For three years, João Mindo had difficulty walking, eating, and even breathing. It wasn‘t until a PEN-Plus clinic opened in rural Mozambique that he received his diagnosis: rheumatic heart disease.
Read MoreThe stark realities of living with severe noncommunicable diseases in extreme poverty became clear to members of the High-Level Advisory Group of the PEN-Plus Partnership when they convened in Mozambique in March to discuss strategies for supporting initiation and scale-up of PEN-Plus in resource-poor countries.
Read MoreA commentary published in The Lancet Diabetes and Endocrinology in early May showcases the power of PEN-Plus and the PEN-Plus Partnership to bring lifesaving care for severe, chronic NCDs to first-level hospitals in poor, rural areas of lower-income countries.
Read More“Help for life and health for all!” wrote Dr. Giacamo Marro of Doctors with Africa CUAMM on the Italian NGO’s blog. “With this message of hope and commitment, chosen by the health personnel, the PEN-Plus clinic for chronic non-communicable diseases at the government hospital in Pujehun was officially opened in a facility rehabilitated by CUAMM.”
Read MoreMomentum has continued since the 47 member states of the African Region of the World Health Organization adopted the regional PEN-Plus strategy to address severe noncommunicable diseases at first-level referral health facilities.
Read MoreAs Mozambique prepares to open its first PEN-Plus clinic in Nhamatanda, NCDI Poverty Network Co-Chair Dr. Ana Mocumbi, Universidade Eduardo Mondlane Chair of Medicine Dr. Sam Patel, and Network PEN-Plus Regional Technical Advisor Dr. Jorge Sixpence led training sessions for four days in December. Twenty five healthcare professionals, including physicians, general medicine technicians, nutritionists, and data managers, attended the training.
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