ABOVE: KEN recipients with the Ministry of Health and Social Action. PHOTO BELOW: Presentation of the “KEN NCD” to IntraHealth/Senegal Country Representative, Dr. Joseph Barboza (right).

Senegal’s Ministry of Health and Social Action presented IntraHealth with an award for its contributions in the fight against noncommunicable diseases (NCDs) during a national symposium on NCDs held November 28-29 in Dakar. Dr. Joseph Barboza, IntraHealth’s Country Representative in Senegal, received the KEN (or “main pillar” in Wolof) NCD award in recognition of the remarkable achievements of IntraHealth’s Better Hearts, Better Cities and CARDIO4Dakar projects from 2017-2024.
 

The two projects, funded by the Novartis Foundation, collaborated with the Ministry’s Division for the Control of NCDs (DLMNT) on pioneering efforts to strengthen the health system in the battle against hypertension, diabetes, hypercholesterolemia, and stroke.

These initiatives strengthened the capacity of health care providers, established a package of community activities, supported the integration of NCDs into the health information system platform, and implemented digital solutions improving the demand for and supply of care (Saytu Tension and eTracker NCD). Through CARDIO4Dakar more than two million people were screened for hypertension. However, these achievements still need to be sustained by integrating the activities into those of health districts and involving local authorities to support the community in the fight against NCDs.

In receiving the award IntraHealth/Senegal wishes to acknowledge Dr. Mamadou Moustapha Diop, Director of Disease Control; Dr. Malick Anne, Head of the NCD Division; Dr. Seynabou Mbow, Head of the MCV office, and the entire DLMNT team; the Senegalese Society of Cardiology; the Senegalese Society of Neurology; the Marc Sankalé Antidiabetic Center; all other branches of the Ministry of Health and Social Action; and a special mention to the entire CARDIO4Dakar team.