Latest News and Updates

From Dec 5-8, 2018 the Program in Global NCDs and Social Change at HMS, with support from NCD Synergies hosted a 4-day NCDI Poverty National Commission Initiator's Workshop in Dubai, UAE. The workshop brought 45 participants and facilitators from 16 countries together to learn, collaborate and further the work of the National NCDI Poverty Commissions.

On World Diabetes Day 2018, the Liberia NCDI Poverty Commission launched their report, and hosted awareness campaigns in Maryland Country. On this occasion, we celebrate our colleagues, peers, and friends who live with, treat, and manage severe conditions like type 1 diabetes across PIH sites.

In Oct 2018, Partners In Health hosted a one-day side meeting “Health Systems and Delivery Strategies to Achieve Universal Health Coverage,” on the sidelines of the Global Conference on Primary Health Care in Astana, Kazakhstan held later in honor of the 40th Anniversary of the Declaration of Alma-Ata. The NCD Synergies team joined the larger PIH team, presenting and engaged in meeting content throughout the week.

On Thursday September 27th, Dr. Gene Bukhman and Maia Olsen represented Partners In Health at the UN High-Level Meeting on NCDs, joining over 350 registered non-governmental stakeholders during the proceedings. PIH prepared a statement but was not selected to speak. Full text of the statement our team intended to give can be found in this post.

On Tuesday September 25th, NCD Synergies in collaboration with HMS and Helmsley, hosted an event during the UN General Assembly. Over 130 people attended the discussion, with representation from the Ministries of Health of Rwanda and Malawi, WHO, the World Bank, and a wide array of global health funding agencies, stakeholders, and peer institutions.

On Aug 28, 2018, Harvard Medical School and Partners In Health co-hosted a side session with the NCD team at WHO AFRO on the integrated management of severe NCDs such as type 1 diabetes and advanced rheumatic heart disease. The event was well attended by Ministers of Health throughout the region, who reiterated strong interest towards increased action on NCDs as a pathway to UHC.

In July, the NCD Synergies Team welcome Dr. Fred Ochieng' as the first Advanced Fellow in Cardiovascular Disease and Global Health Equity. The team then led a three-day Continuing Medical Education Course at Harvard Medical School on Cardiovascular Disease and Global Health Equity.

The NCD Synergies attended the UN Interactive Hearing on the Prevention and Control of NCDs on July 5th, 2018 as part of the formal preparatory process to the UN High Level Meeting on NCDs later this year (Sep 27 2018), providing a statement from the floor with recommendations for the draft political declaration. PIH's intervention underscored the need for a rights-based approach and prioritizing equitable delivery of NCD care inclusive of the world's poorest populations.

From June 11-12 2018, the NCD Synergies team co-hosted a regional dialogue with colleagues from Mozambique Institute of Health Education and Research and Harvard Medical School, to broaden the framework of NCDs and injuries across Southern Africa. The meeting brought over 40 people from 10 countries to Maputo, Mozambique for two days of discussion and regional planning.

In late May 2018, NCD Synergies attended the 71st World Health Assembly in Geneva. At WHA, a Resolution on Rheumatic Fever and RHD was adopted, which is of particular interest to populations in settings of extreme poverty. Universal health coverage and the UN High-Level Meeting on NCDs were also major discussion points throughout the week.

The Nepal NCDI Poverty Commission is the first National Commission to launch a national report, featuring national-level analysis and key findings to guide NCDI clinical implementation and care. The report was launched alongside global Commissioners, the Nepal MOH, and WHO.

NCD Synergies and the Program in Global NCDs and Social Change at Harvard Medical School has partnered with the World Health Organization to host regular virtual meetings and webinars to guide the conversation around NCDs, poverty and development in the lead-up to the UN High-level Meeting on NCDs.

In honor of World Cancer Day 2018, NCD Synergies and the Lancet NCDI Poverty Commission are sharing video narratives of four people living with cancer in rural Ethiopia and Nepal. Their stories, part of the Voices of NCDI Poverty initiative, highlight the importance of addressing the equity gap in access to cancer services among the world's poorest populations.

From 2017-2020, Partners In Health will be collaborating with Helmsley Charitable Trust on a $12 million partnership to support increased access to type 1 diabetes and integrated NCD care across four PIH sites in sub-Saharan Africa and Haiti.

The Lancet Commission on Reframing NCDs and Injuries for the Poorest Billion reconvened in Kigali, Rwanda for a 2nd in-person meeting from 28-30 September, featuring 14 commissioners and national representatives from 11 countries. The meeting focused on reviewing progress of the global working groups, discussing the final report outline, and presenting proposed work at national level.