Zimbabwe Finalizes National Operational Plan for PEN-Plus

During a home visit, PEN-Plus nurse Euna Museva takes a blood sample from Ruvarashe Chikombe, a three-year-old living with sickle cell disease in the Masvingo Province of Zimbabwe. (© Tafadzwa Ufumeli/World Health Organization)

Zimbabwe recently published its national operational plan for PEN-Plus, becoming the first country to do so among the dozen nations that began implementing PEN-Plus in 2022–23.

“This plan shows the great commitment of Zimbabwe’s Ministry of Health and its supporting partners to take the lessons learned from its initial experience with PEN-Plus to the next level and to scale the program for more people around the country,” said Dr. Neil Gupta, senior director of policy for the NCDI Poverty Network.

The country has two implementing partners: the Clinton Health Access Initiative, based in the United States and better known as CHAI, and SolidarMed, a Swiss nongovernmental organization that bases its Zimbabwe work in Masvingo Province, where Masvingo Provincial Hospital is the main hub for PEN-Plus implementation and care.

Dr. Gupta noted that the plan’s conclusions echo those of the Network’s PEN-Plus Partnership Strategic Plan (2025–2028), which lists the major PEN-Plus priorities as equity, quality, and financing.