The Network Expands Its Social Media Presence
The first International Conference on PEN-Plus in Africa—held in Dar es Salaam, Tanzania, in April 2024—attracted participants from 52 countries, including dozens of African nations. The NCDI Poverty Network recently expanded its social media presence to reflect the rapid expansion of Facebook use on the continent. (Photo: Courtesy of World Health Organization)
The NCDI Poverty Network recently expanded its social media presence to include Facebook and Instagram accounts.
The expansion was inspired in large part by the importance of the Network’s partners in Africa, where Facebook remains a primary social media platform and internet access and smartphone connections are growing exponentially. The number of Facebook users across the African continent increased by more than 14 percent from 2024 to 2025 and could top 390 million by 2028, according to South Africa marketing company Radical Cloud Solutions.
The social media presence of Network partners such as Africa CDC and the WHO African Regional Office reflects this growth. Africa CDC has 3.3 million followers on Facebook, for example, compared to 169,000 on X and 151,000 on LinkedIn. WHO AFRO has a similar disparity, with 1.7 million followers on Facebook compared to 323,000 on X and 14,000 on LinkedIn.
The Fourth United Nations High-Level Meeting on the Prevention and Control of Noncommunicable Diseases, to be held in New York City in September, also served as a catalyst for the Network’s social media expansion.
“The upcoming High-Level Meeting makes this is a momentous year for NCD policies internationally,” said Paula Byron, the Network’s communications director. “In advance of that meeting and beyond, our extended online reach will help us advocate for a vulnerable population largely missing from the global NCD agenda: children, adolescents, and young adults living with severe NCDs in lower-income countries. We encourage everyone to follow our accounts and share our posts.”
The Network recently published a position statement that offers policy recommendations for ensuring that those young people have access to the lifesaving services they need.
The new accounts can be found by searching “NCDI Poverty Network” on the Facebook and Instagram platforms. In addition, a link on the Facebook page enables visitors to communicate directly with the Network through WhatsApp messaging.
The Network already has a social media presence on X and LinkedIn.
Photos, videos, and content ideas are encouraged and can be sent to Mike Lawrence, the Network’s communications manager, at mclawrence1@bwh.harvard.edu.