The Novo Nordisk Foundation has announced the launch of a 1 billion Danish kroner (DKK) ($140 million) initiative to reduce health inequity by educating health professionals in underserved regions in India and East Africa.

The Partnership for Education of health Professionals (PEP) will bring together health authorities, universities, educational institutions, and local partners to boost the education of health professionals in improving the prevention and care of noncommunicable diseases, particularly cardiometabolic diseases such as diabetes and hypertension. Expected to run until 2030, PEP will be implemented across multiple locations, with a focus on two intervention areas: institutional capacity building for the education of health professionals and educational research and implementation research on health professionals serving people in vulnerable positions.

To address gender-based inequalities, PEP also will apply gender mainstreaming across interventions and research activities. In addition, PEP will establish a partnership network to ensure that innovation and new knowledge are shared between partners in India, East Africa, Denmark, and around the world.

“Our vision for PEP is that people living in vulnerable positions in rural India and East Africa should have equitable access to high-quality prevention and care for cardiometabolic diseases,” said Novo Nordisk Foundation CEO Mads Krogsgaard Thomsen. “These diseases are the primary cause of death globally, and in low- and middle-income countries the prevalence is increasing rapidly. I am confident that PEP can have a tremendous impact in both prevention and care. Through PEP, we will also promote gender equality by empowering women to flourish in their profession as health professionals and researchers.”

(Photo credit: Getty Images/Lakshmi Prasad S)