18 March 2026

As the fight against non-communicable diseases (NCDs) intensifies in low- and middle-income countries, the IS4NCDs consortium is set to convene its highly anticipated regional meeting from 4 to 8 May 2026 at the University of the Witwatersrand (Wits) in Johannesburg, South Africa. Hosted by one of Africa's leading public universities, this gathering brings together educators, implementers and health experts from partner institutions to propel the project's mission: equipping Southern African universities with innovative, scalable training programmes to combat NCDs such as diabetes, cardiovascular disease and cancer.

IS4NCDs (Implementation Science for Non-Communicable Diseases) is a collaborative initiative focused on strengthening implementation science education for NCD prevention and management in South Africa and Zambia. By emphasising practical, context-adapted education, the consortium develops short courses and postgraduate modules at core, intermediate and advanced levels, along with an executive programme and a regional eHub. These offerings use innovative pedagogies, including challenge-based and other active learning approaches, to immerse participants in real-world health challenges and foster skills in evidence-based interventions, policy translation and stakeholder engagement. The Johannesburg meeting marks a critical juncture, shifting from preparation to piloting and long-term sustainability.

Key Objectives: From Onboarding to Consensus

The agenda is packed with targeted objectives designed to build momentum and resolve key challenges for the next project phase.

First, the meeting will make new teachers familiar with the course content and Challenge Based Learning (CBL). Through interactive sessions and demonstrations, newcomers will explore how CBL and related methods can transform passive learning into active problem-solving. For example, a module on hypertension management might ask participants to design and test context-appropriate strategies for improving treatment adherence in a specific clinic or district, ensuring that educators are prepared to guide learners through applied implementation challenges.

Participants will then reflect on Parts A and B of the implementation roadmap for each module, which guide planning and roll-out across partner institutions. Part A is concerned with early steps such as defining learning outcomes, adapting content to institutional contexts and mapping available resources, while Part B focuses on practical aspects of delivery, including teacher preparation, stakeholder engagement and evaluation. Building on experiences from earlier consortium meetings and work package activities, partners will examine what has worked well and where adjustments are required to ensure smooth implementation.

A major focus in Johannesburg will be concluding the preparation phase of the core, intermediate and advanced modules. Attendees will review teaching materials, case studies and assessment strategies, and align on minimum quality standards before piloting begins. Sharing initial experiences from the preparation phase—such as how teams integrated local data, or adapted examples to different health system settings—will help build a shared understanding and promote cross-country learning.

Piloting and Sustainability on the Horizon

The consortium also aims to reach consensus on the piloting of the short courses and modules in 2026 and 2027. Discussions will address which sites and programmes will host early pilots, indicative timelines, and broad principles for monitoring outcomes such as learner engagement, competency development and perceived relevance for NCD-related work. Lessons from these pilots will inform further refinement and, ultimately, integration of the modules into accredited postgraduate pathways.

In addition, the meeting will open the first structured discussions on sustainability of the project outcomes after the formal project end date. Themes are expected to include how best to embed the modules into existing degree structures, maintain and expand access to the eHub, and continue collaboration between South African, Zambian and European higher education institutions. With NCDs rising sharply across South Africa and Zambia and placing increasing strain on health systems, building lasting institutional capacity in implementation science education is central to the IS4NCDs vision.

A Working Space for Consortium Partners

The Johannesburg regional consortium meeting is designed as an internal working space for IS4NCDs partners. Attendance will consist of consortium members and invited teaching staff, including approximately four teachers from each participating higher education institution in South Africa and Zambia. By creating dedicated time and space for joint reflection, detailed planning and hands-on engagement with the new modules and teaching approaches, the meeting aims to strengthen the shared ownership and readiness needed for successful piloting and long-term sustainability of IS4NCDs training activities.

9 March 2026

The IS4NCDs consortium's implementation science roadmap for non-communicable disease (NCD) programmes – currently under development – recognises that bridging the 'know-do' gap requires more than just effective interventions. Practical expertise is needed to deploy them reliably, equitably, and with consistent quality across diverse settings and populations. Despite solid clinical protocols for prevention, screening, diagnosis, treatment initiation, adherence support, and sustained follow-up, NCD outcomes frequently disappoint owing to patchy delivery and health systems unprepared for reliable, ongoing care. NCDs' chronic, multimorbid profile – requiring persistent self-management, interdisciplinary teamwork, and regular system touchpoints – allows even minor procedural slips to compound over time, jeopardising results. A structured suite of modules is thus vital to empower the workforce in translating evidence into routine NCD practice through measurable, collaborative, and viable means.

The programme fosters progressive skill-building. Foundational implementation science modules cover essential concepts, theories, frameworks, and outcomes (including acceptability, feasibility, fidelity, adoption, reach, equity, and sustainment), alongside skills for pinpointing contextual drivers and adapting strategies. Subsequent intermediate modules in quality improvement, mixed-methods research, and participatory action research (PAR) supply practical tools for service deployment. The quality module enables learners to build dependable learning systems, curb unjustified variation, and leverage metrics for advancement (via process/balancing measures, run charts, and time-series tracking), all while balancing fidelity against necessary adaptations in multifaceted NCD pathways. Mixed-methods approaches are indispensable, since NCD issues rarely trace to singular causes: quantitative data highlights gaps (e.g., in treatment starts, retention, or control rates), while qualitative insights reveal root explanations (e.g., workflow bottlenecks, patient challenges, team interplay, or cultural norms). In tandem, they bolster causal understanding, strategy refinement, and rigorous evaluations – even hybrid types. PAR stands out for NCD contexts, where enduring shifts rely on co-design with service users and providers: patients, communities, frontline workers, and managers. It cultivates expertise in joint problem identification, ethical collaboration, cyclical co-development, and shared review, enhancing strategy legitimacy, adoption, and endurance – particularly for self-care and care continuity.

Participating higher education institutions gain curriculum renewal attuned to national imperatives for chronic disease control, primary healthcare bolstering, and universal coverage. The programme equips graduates to champion hands-on implementation, quality drives, and inquiry partnerships; ignites inter-field education and research across public health, clinical practice, management, and data expertise; and forges avenues for scholarly work like implementation reviews, mixed-methods analyses, and PAR learning collaborations. It further casts institutions as leaders in learning health systems that yield practice-derived evidence to guide redesign and scaling.

Nationally, this IS4NCDs consortium initiative – actively being shaped – elevates NCD performance by fortifying evidence-based intervention delivery with reliability, efficiency, equity, and durability. Graduates emerge equipped to narrow care inconsistencies, reinforce referral/follow-up networks, uphold clinical protocols, and weave continuous measurement and adaptation into everyday services. Integrating implementation science with quality, mixed-methods, and PAR not only hones strategy decisions but cultivates grassroots commitment, astute modifications, and compelling scale-up evidence – yielding better control, fewer complications and avoidable admissions, enhanced patient journeys, and resource efficiencies over time.