Colin Pfaff, MBBCh, M Med (Fam), MPH
Associate Director of Programs, NCDI Poverty Network and Center for Integration Science in Global Health Equity at Brigham and Women’s Hospital
Colin Pfaff, MBBCh, M Med (Fam), MPH, is the Associate Director of Programs at the NCDI Poverty Network and the Center for Integration Science in Global Health Equity at Brigham and Women’s Hospital.
Dr. Pfaff is a family medicine and public health doctor from South Africa, where he is currently based. He has more than 25 years of experience in district-level primary health care services in South Africa, Nepal, and Malawi, including HIV, tuberculosis, and noncommunicable disease programs.
Stories with Colin Pfaff
With peer support having proved to be a key component of PEN-Plus care, the NCDI Poverty Network is developing an integrated training program for peer educators. “We’ve seen beautiful examples of young people who are unafraid to speak boldly about their condition, to be advocates, to be champions,” said Dr. Colin Pfaff, the Network’s associate director of programs. “They are living successful lives and are examples to others, which has such a powerful impact.”
The catchy, R&B-style track is providing new support and empowerment for people living with severe, chronic noncommunicable diseases such as type 1 diabetes.
Photos from the weeklong camp show joy, education, and empowerment, as young people living with type 1 diabetes or sickle cell disease shared experiences, learned about managing their health and, above all, discovered they were not alone.
A commentary authored by Network and UNICEF leaders and published in August by The Lancet Child & Adolescent Health makes the case for better care for children and adolescents living with severe, chronic NCDs in settings of extreme poverty, a case that’s also reflected in the Network’s position statement ahead of the United Nations High-Level Meeting on NCDs in September.
Camp Tuli Bonse, an integrated summer camp, will bring together about 60 children, adolescents, and young adults living with either type 1 diabetes or sickle cell disease for a week of health education, support, solidarity, and fun in Chongwe, Zambia, from August 18 to 22.
Two NCDI Poverty Network physicians lent their expertise during a recent diabetes training workshop that the Sonia Nabeta Foundation hosted in Uganda.
A recent visit to Zimbabwe by members of the NCDI Poverty Network’s Programs Team yielded encouraging updates on the country’s PEN-Plus program.
In addition to participating in the first International Conference on PEN-Plus in Africa, NCDI Poverty Network members took several occasions to gather, reflect, and renew their commitment to ensuring that lifesaving treatment reaches those who need it most.
In May, eight PEN-Plus providers in Zimbabwe received initial training in performing and interpreting echocardiograms. Those eight providers—along with seven others—were also trained in managing heart failure.