News and Stories
African Health Leaders Call for a Greater Investment in Integrated Models of Care
Dr. Ana Mocumbi, co-chair of the NCDI Poverty Network, represented PEN-Plus at a high-level side event during the recent 75th session of the WHO Regional Committee for Africa. There delegates emphasized the urgent need for equitable access to prevention, screening, treatment, and rehabilitation across the continuum of care for people living with severe noncommunicable diseases.
Health Leaders Commit to Accelerating PEN-Plus in Africa
At the second International Conference for PEN-Plus in Africa, recently held in Abuja, health leaders, policymakers, and development partners across Africa renewed their commitment to an accelerated implementation of the PEN-Plus to significantly expand access to care for people living with severe noncommunicable diseases.
ICPPA Positions Nigeria as Leading PEN-Plus Advocate, Media Coverage Shows
The second International Conference on PEN-Plus in Africa positioned Nigeria as a leading advocate for PEN-Plus across the African continent, media coverage of the July conference showed.
Examining the Patient’s Entire Journey
The NCDI Poverty Network’s second study in a trio assessing 16 health facilities across nine countries in 2022–23, before PEN-Plus implementation, focuses on how providers deliver care, from screening and diagnosis through treatment and long-term support.
Study Shows Medicine and Equipment Gaps in Advance of PEN-Plus
A newly published study found that only two of 16 health facilities assessed in nine lower-income countries had all the functional equipment needed to diagnose and manage care for people living with type 1 diabetes. Two of the facilities had none of the necessary equipment.
WHO AFRO Publishes Landmark PEN-Plus Report
The WHO Regional Office for Africa recently published a landmark report that details the impact and momentum of the PEN-Plus model, providing a valuable tool for advocacy and information about integrated care for people living with severe, chronic noncommunicable diseases.
Mozambique Co-Secretariat Awarded a European Commission Grant to Assess PEN-Plus Implementation
An international partnership that includes the NCDI Poverty Network and its Mozambique co-secretariat, housed at Universidade Eduardo Mondlane in Maputo, received a 4-million-euro award from the European Commission to assess and support the implementation of PEN-Plus in Mozambique.
Research Team to Devote the Upcoming Year to Facility Assessments and Patient Studies
The research team at the Center for Integration Science in Global Health Equity has focused many of its most recent studies on the diverse aspects of PEN-Plus implementation and impact in sub-Saharan Africa and South Asia.
Network Joins UNICEF in Publishing Report on Childhood Noncommunicable Diseases
The NCDI Poverty Network—through one of its co-secretariats, the Center for Integration Science in Global Health Equity at Brigham and Women’s Hospital—has joined UNICEF in publishing a report on the burden on noncommunicable diseases on children, adolescents, and young adults in South Asia.
Testing a Model for Depression Care in Malawi
NCDI Poverty Network members joined other researchers in assessing a mental health intervention that was integrated into an existing model of chronic care in Malawi. They found that such interventions can be inexpensive if they build off an existing infrastructure, involve lay personnel, and deliver therapy in a group format.
“Nothing For Us, Without Us”
The International Society for Pediatric and Adolescent Diabetes meeting in October shined a spotlight on patient advocates as key stakeholders in developing guidelines for type 1 diabetes care globally.
Workshop Convenes All Eight Countries in UNICEF’s Regional Office for South Asia
In early June, delegations from all eight countries in UNICEF ROSA—the Regional Office for South Asia—convened in Kathmandu for a three-day workshop on severe childhood-onset noncommunicable diseases.
Challenging Assumptions for Low-Income Countries
A recently published study of people living with type 1 diabetes in two rural clinics in Malawi found a high level of acceptability and satisfaction among those using continuous glucose monitoring, suggesting that the technology is feasible in low-income settings.
From Words to Action
The first International Conference on PEN-Plus in Africa provided a platform for health experts, policymakers, civil society organization representatives, donors, people living with noncommunicable diseases, and community advocates to expedite political and financial backing for PEN-Plus.
An Underpinning of Research
In advance of the International Conference on PEN-Plus in Africa, the NCDI Poverty Network team compiled research resources on PEN-Plus and other integrated-science healthcare delivery models.
Network Publishes Scoping Review of Sickle Cell Disease Care
NCDI Poverty Network researchers recently published a scoping review of models of care for people with sickle cell disease in low-income and lower-middle-income countries. Their findings confirmed the care limitations the Network has been seeking to overcome through the implementation of the PEN-Plus model.
International Conference Series on PEN-Plus in Africa to Debut in April
“PEN-Plus” was coined only five years ago, but already the integrated care-delivery model is receiving a spotlight on the global stage, with the launch of the first annual International Conference on PEN-Plus in Africa. The invitational conference will take place in Dar es Salaam, Tanzania, in April.
Integration Science Can Help Heal Global Health Inequities
Integration science can do more than deliver quality healthcare; it can also deliver global health equity solutions. That’s the central premise of “From Local Innovation to National Scale to Global Impact: Integration Science as an Engine of Change and an Agenda for Action,” the second annual symposium of the Center for Integration Science in Global Health Equity.
Stronger Together: The Power of Patient Organizers in the Fight for Global Health Justice
“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.
Integration Science Study on the Delivery Status of High-Priority Clinical Services Launched
In August, the NCDI Poverty Network’s Maputo Co-Secretariat launched an integration science study designed to generate information on the delivery status of high-priority clinical services for people with noncommunicable diseases at 20 facilities in Mozambique, Cameroon, and Nigeria.