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Care providers and advocates from eight PEN-Plus countries—Kenya, Malawi, Mozambique, Nepal, Tanzania, Uganda, Zambia, and Zimbabwe—contributed a series of videos to celebrate the NCDI Poverty Network’s third anniversary.

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.

The NCDI Poverty Network and the Centre for Infectious Disease Research in Zambia (CIDRZ) hosted a side event, “PEN-Plus Partnership: An NCDI Poverty Network Initiative in Partnership with WHO/AFRO,” on 29 November at the 3rd International Conference on Public Health in Africa, held in Lusaka, Zambia.

“People living with chronic conditions have historically not been considered important decision-makers from a policy perspective,” said Dr. Apoorva Gomber, coauthor of an opinion piece recently published in PLOS Global Public Health. “Our article highlights the absurdity of policymakers making decisions aimed at benefitting people living with a certain disease without consulting anyone who actually lives with that disease.”

The Southern Africa Regional Hub of the NCDI Poverty Network will host a side event during the third annual International Conference on Public Health in Africa. The side event—“PEN-Plus Partnership: An NCDI Poverty Network Initiative in partnership with WHO-Afro”—will take place on 29 November in Lusaka, Zambia, with an option for livestreaming.