Following the adoption of the PEN-Plus strategy to address severe NCDs at first-level referral health facilities by the World Health Organization Regional Office for Africa (WHO/AFRO), PEN-Plus and the NCDI Poverty Network were agenda items at the Regional Meeting of WHO staff responsible for the fight against non-communicable diseases (NCDs).

The Center for Integration Science in Global Health Equity (CIS) hosted its inaugural symposium on Thursday, 10 November 2022. More than 60 participants joined the event in-person at the Joseph B. Martin Conference Center at Harvard Medical School (HMS), and over 100 others tuned in to the livestream.

Following the adoption of the PEN-Plus strategy to address severe NCDs at first-level referral health facilities by the World Health Organization Regional Office for Africa (WHO/AFRO), the West African Health Organization (WAHO) hosted a three-day regional review meeting on the WHO Package of Essential NCD Interventions for Primary Health Care (WHO PEN) that included a presentation on PEN-Plus and the NCDI Poverty Network. Participants met in Cape Verde between 14-16 September 2022.

The NCDI Poverty Network Secretariat hosted the third installment of the current Knowledge Exchange series on 19 October. The discussion focused on PEN-Plus and how the integrated care delivery strategy is being implemented and scaled up across Africa and Southern Asia.

A recording of the event can be viewed here.

The Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) NCDI Poverty Commission met for its first technical meeting on 27 September in Kinshasa to review national NCDI data as part an initial situation analysis.

Commission Coordinator and NCDI Poverty Network Steering Committee Member Dr. Aimée Lulebo delivered opening remarks to the 20 Commissioners on behalf of Commission Chair Dr. Dieudonné Mwamba, who was unable to attend. Dr. Lulebo highlighted the important of using the results of the situation analysis to support decision making and resource mobilization as the Commission proceeds with the next phases of its work – priority-setting for interventions that address the burden of severe NCDs, followed by design and implementation of integrated service delivery models to deliver prioritized interventions.

The Ghana NCDI Poverty Commission held its kickoff meeting on 5 October 2022 at Korle Bu Teaching Hospital in Accra, Ghana. Commission Co-Chairs Professor Alfred Yawson, Dean of the University of Ghana Medical School, and Dr. Efua Commeh, NCD Acting Program Manager at the Ghana Health Service, led the launch meeting.