Team

Communicable Diseases (PEN-Plus) in Southern Africa for the NCDI Poverty Network and the Centre for Integration Science in Global Health Equity at Brigham and Women’s Hospital. He is a Zimbabwean public health medical doctor specialised in Diabetes care and NCD program management, with over a decade of experience advancing equitable access to NCD care in rural and low-resource African settings.

Dr Mutengerere previously led the implementation of WHO PEN in Masvingo, Zimbabwe and subsequently spearheaded the country’s PEN-Plus pilot and national scale-up initiatives. His work has focused on strengthening health systems for NCD care through integrated training and mentorship platforms, decentralised service delivery models, strengthened supply chains, improved data and quality improvement systems, and sustainable clinic workflows aligned with PEN and PEN-Plus Programmatic Standards. He has played a key role in expanding access to care for conditions including type 1 and type 2 diabetes, rheumatic and congenital heart disease, sickle cell disease, heart failure, and hypertension.

His work has contributed to positioning Zimbabwe as an important PEN-Plus implementation and learning hub within the region. Dr Mutengerere has supported regional technical collaboration, cross-country learning exchanges, and harmonisation efforts across Southern Africa, working closely with Ministries of Health, WHO, UNICEF, CHAI, academic institutions, and implementing partners to strengthen national and regional policy dialogue around PEN and PEN-Plus implementation.

Recognised for bridging clinical expertise with large-scale implementation leadership, Dr Mutengerere brings a practical and systems-oriented approach to strengthening severe chronic NCD care across Africa. His work is driven by a strong commitment to equitable, patient-centred health systems that deliver high-quality, long-term NCD care for vulnerable populations.

Dr Njeri Nyanja is a family physician, primary health care specialist, medical educator, and researcher who serves as Training and Education Advisor for the NCDI Poverty Network and the Center for Integration Science in Global Health Equity at Brigham and Women’s Hospital. Dr. Nyanja has more than 20 years of experience spanning clinical practice, medical education, health systems strengthening, research, and noncommunicable disease program implementation across Kenya, Tanzania, and Eswatini.

Prior to joining the Network, Dr. Nyanja served as a Primary Health Care Technical Consultant with the World Bank, supporting work across noncommunicable diseases and mental health, reproductive health, maternal, child and adolescent health, and nutrition. She previously served as Clinical Technical Advisor for Non-Communicable Diseases, Injuries and Mental Health with Eswatini’s Ministry of Health. In Eswatini, she supported the decentralization of NCD services to 212 primary health care facilities, helped develop the National NCD Strategy 2024–2028 and revised national clinical guidelines covering 80 disease areas, and trained more than 600 health professionals in WHO-PEN and integrated chronic disease management.

Dr. Nyanja brings extensive experience in medical education and clinical mentorship. During her academic career at Aga Khan University and Kabarak University, she served in roles including Senior Lecturer, Interim Programme Director, and Assistant Professor of Family Medicine. She has trained and mentored medical residents, supervised postgraduate research, developed and revised Family Medicine curricula and academic supervisory frameworks, and helped establish new approaches to multidisciplinary clinical training.

Her work combines clinical education with health systems implementation and evidence generation. She has authored or co-authored more than nine peer-reviewed publications and led or contributed to research spanning primary care, community health, chronic disease, and health workforce strengthening. Dr. Nyanja holds an MPhil in Primary Care Research from the University of Cambridge, an MMed in Family Medicine from Aga Khan University, an MBA from Daystar University, and an MBChB from the University of Nairobi.

In her role with the NCDI Poverty Network, she brings this combination of clinical, academic, and health-system experience to strengthening education and training for PEN-Plus, with a focus on developing health worker competencies, strengthening clinical mentorship, and supporting high-quality care for severe chronic noncommunicable diseases in resource-constrained settings.

Lhakpa Nyinjee, MA, MPA has a decade of experience in designing, implementing, and evaluating development policies related to public finance and fiscal strategy, tax reforms and regulations, municipal finance, and public administration. She has held various roles at the Ministry of Finance in the government of Bhutan, including policy analyst, manager, and trainer. Throughout her career, she has contributed to formulating fiscal policies, enhancing public service delivery, and mobilizing domestic resources to achieve the development philosophy of Gross National Happiness.

Additionally, Nyinjee served as a research/program associate at the Ash Center for Democratic Governance and Innovation at the Harvard Kennedy School of Government. There she also gained experience as a teaching assistant for the Adaptive Leadership course. Recently, she was an African Bridge Network fellow in the Grant Administration Division at the Ragon Institute of Mass General Brigham, the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, and Harvard University.

Nyinjee holds a bachelor’s degree in economics from Delhi University, a master’s degree in international economics and finance from Chulalongkorn University, and a master of public administration degree from the Harvard Kennedy School of Government.

Colin Pfaff, MBBCh, M Med (Fam), MPH, is the Associate Director of Programs at the NCDI Poverty Network and the Center for Integration Science in Global Health Equity at Brigham and Women’s Hospital.

Dr. Pfaff is a family medicine and public health doctor from South Africa, where he is currently based. He has more than 25 years of experience in district-level primary health care services in South Africa, Nepal, and Malawi, including HIV, tuberculosis, and noncommunicable disease programs.

Ramon Ruiz is an Instructional Designer in the Division of Global Health Equity at the Center for Integration Science. He collaborates with experts across the Global Health Delivery Partnership to design, develop, and launch courses for clinicians working at NCD clinics in rural health facilities within low- and lower-middle income countries.

Before joining the NCDI Poverty Network team, Ramon worked at Massachusetts Port Authority, State Street Global Advisors, and Natixis Investment Managers in learning and development, learning management system (LMS) administration, and graphic design. He has a BA in Visual Arts from Brown University.