English | Français
Certificate peer learning programme for Noncommunicable diseases (NCDs)
Noncommunicable diseases in humanitarian settings
A practical approach to more just and effective humanitarian response
Disasters can strike anywhere. For people living with chronic conditions like diabetes or hypertension, an emergency can quickly become a death sentence. This “learn-by-doing” programme gives you the practical tools and peer support to prepare, respond, and recover, connecting you with colleagues from around the world.
REQUEST YOUR INVITATIONWhen disaster strikes, chronic conditions can become acute emergencies
In a crisis, the normal systems of care are disrupted. For people living with noncommunicable diseases (NCDs), the consequences can be immediate and severe.
- Life-sustaining care is interrupted. A person with Type 1 diabetes can die in days without insulin. Someone with severe hypertension can have a stroke without their medication.
- Health systems are overwhelmed and supply chains break. Pharmacies are destroyed, roads become impassable, and clinics are flooded with trauma cases, leaving people with nowhere to turn.
- The stress of a crisis is a direct medical threat. The immense physical and mental strain of an emergency can trigger life-threatening events like heart attacks, severe asthma attacks, or diabetic ketoacidosis.
- Every responder needs a plan. Whether you are in an affluent country or a fragile state, you need a simple, evidence-based framework to manage NCDs when a crisis hits.
Start learning now
The information in the PEN-H guidelines is available online. But information alone is not enough to prepare you for a crisis. Our open-access primer offers two things you cannot get from a document:
First, you will connect with a global community of practitioners to share your experience, give and receive feedback, and solve problems together.
Second, you can trust the content because it has been approved by Dr. Shanthi Mendis, the global NCD expert who led the development of both the World Health Organization’s PEN guidelines and the PEN-H guidelines specifically for humanitarian settings.
What happens when you join
- Register your interest. Sign up to receive programme updates and resources.
- Enroll in the free, expert-approved primer. You will be invited to our first short course, “A primer for NCD response in humanitarian settings,” to learn the fundamentals and earn your first certificate.
- Connect with your peers. In the primer, you will join a global network of practitioners dedicated to solving this challenge.
- Take action. Choose the next module in the programme that aligns with your work and begin developing practical solutions for your setting.
A programme for every member of the response team.
This programme is designed for any practitioner who needs to be ready for a disaster, regardless of where they work. It provides a dedicated learning pathway for your specific role.
For community health workers and volunteers
Your connection and trust within the community are essential. This programme will help you do the following before, during, and after a humanitarian emergency:
- Become a vital link in the chain of care. Learn simple but effective methods to identify at-risk individuals, support medication adherence, and refer patients with warning signs before their condition becomes an emergency.
- Provide practical health education. Gain the tools to counsel patients on healthy behaviors, teach families how to support a loved one with an NCD, and explain the importance of taking medicines every day.
- Build confidence in your role. Your project will focus on developing practical community engagement and education plans that prevent complications and save lives.
For nurses and non-prescribing clinicians
You are often the first clinical point of contact and play a central role in managing patient flow and care. This programme will empower you to:
- Triage NCD patients with confidence. Learn to apply the ABCDE approach to quickly identify danger signs and prioritize patients who need immediate attention.
- Provide essential life-saving care. Master the protocols for providing supportive care for NCD emergencies while waiting for a prescribing clinician.
- Develop practical tools for your facility. Your project will involve creating tangible outputs, such as a triage tool or an emergency checklist, that you and your colleagues can use.
For medical doctors and prescribing clinicians
Even with strong clinical knowledge, applying it in a low-resource, high-stress humanitarian setting is a unique challenge. This programme is designed to help you:
- Master the essential NCD response protocols. Learn to use the evidence-based PEN-H toolkit to rapidly diagnose and treat the eight most critical NCD emergencies and manage complex chronic conditions when advanced diagnostics are not available.
- Lead and supervise your clinical team. Gain the framework to provide clear clinical supervision and train colleagues and community health workers, strengthening the entire team’s capacity.
- Adapt evidence to your reality. Your project will focus on adapting clinical protocols to your specific context, ensuring you can provide the best possible care even when you cannot refer a patient.
For programme managers and planners
Failing to prepare for NCDs leads to preventable deaths, overwhelms facilities, and increases costs. Your role is to build a resilient system before a crisis hits, support crisis response, and then manage recovery efforts. This programme will guide you in developing effective strategies to:
- Integrate NCDs into all emergency plans. Learn how to ensure NCDs are part of preparedness and response plans, not treated as a separate, secondary issue.
- Build a prepared and equipped health workforce. Learn to use tools like the WHO NCD Kit to preposition essential medicines and the PEN-H Facility Readiness Checklist to systematically identify and address gaps in your system.
- Develop a comprehensive NCD response plan. Your project will be to develop a strategic plan for your district or organization that saves lives, protects your health system from collapse, and builds a foundation for long-term recovery.
empty box
An evidence-based approach, developed with countries
The programme is led by Dr Mendis, former Senior Adviser for Noncommunicable Diseases at the World Health Organization. She developed the Package of Essential NCD Interventions for Humanitarian Settings (PEN-H), the globally recognized standard for NCD care in crises. This package was developed for the International Rescue Committee (IRC) to adapt proven WHO guidance for the unique challenges of humanitarian work.
“During my time as Senior Adviser for Noncommunicable Diseases at the World Health Organization, I led the development and country implementation of WHO PEN (Package of Essential NCD interventions for resource constrained settings over two decades. In 2020, I worked with the International Rescue Committee and The Geneva Learning Foundation to develop PEN-H, adapting these essential interventions specifically for humanitarian settings. This programme will help you implement these proven approaches in your crisis context.”
— Dr. Shanthi Mendis MBBS, MD, FRCP, FRCPE, FACC Lead Faculty and former WHO Senior Adviser for NCDs
What you will gain
This certificate programme is built around four key practices.
Connecting the dots
A pathway to gender equity in humanitarian work
Join a global community
JOIN NOWAbout The Geneva Learning Foundation
Our commitment to equity in action
The Geneva Learning Foundation is a Swiss non-profit. We research, develop, and implement new ways to transform how knowledge is created, shared, and applied. In global health, we connect health workers across 137 countries through digital networks that recognize local expertise as essential for effective action.
TGLF believes that those closest to challenges hold the most valuable solutions. Our peer learning approach:
- Values knowledge from all sources—whether from community health workers or researchers
- Creates spaces where diverse voices lead as equals, challenging traditional power hierarchies
- Makes learning accessible across contexts, regardless of geography or resources
- Demonstrates that including more diverse perspectives leads to better health outcomes