The PEN-Plus Partnership: addressing severe chronic non-communicable diseases among the poorest billion

The number of people living in extreme material poverty (around 1 billion) has remained remarkably persistent over the past two centuries. 1 World BankPoverty and shared prosperity 2022: correcting course. World Bank, Washington, DC2022 Crossref Google Scholar During the period of the Millennium Development Goals (2000–15), world leaders were focused on improving the lives of this population and treating infectious diseases associated with poverty was seen as one of the most effective ways to promote health and economic progress. Unfortunately, non-infectious diseases, even severe ones, were left out of calls for global solidarity and development financing.