Africa Health Collaborative Convening to Spotlight Youth, African-Led Innovation, and Systems Change in Primary Health Care

Location
Kigali, Rwanda and Online
Date(s)
Oct 20-22, 2025

Coming to you from the land of a thousand hills, this year’s Africa Health Collaborative (AHC) Annual Convening is hosted by The African Leadership University, under the theme “From Potential to Impact: Advancing Africa’s Health Workforce and Innovation Ecosystems.”

This year’s Convening will bring together leaders and innovators from government, academia, civil society, and the private sector to explore practical solutions for strengthening Africa’s primary health care systems through workforce development, entrepreneurship, institutional collaboration, and innovation.

More than a dialogue, this Convening is a continental call to action — co-creating a roadmap to translate Africa’s health innovation potential into measurable, national-level impact. The theme reflects a common goal: to amplify what’s working, scale bold innovations, and strengthen the people and organisations driving progress on the ground.

The AHC is a collaboration of nine universities in Africa and Canada working in partnership with the Mastercard Foundation to transform primary health care. Together, they aim to train 30,000 health professionals and support 5,000 youth-led health ventures. This Convening will accelerate that vision, ensuring that policy and investment follow Africa’s homegrown solutions.

A Co-Created Platform for Collaboration and Policy Impact

The 2025 Convening builds on AHC’s mission to foster cross-institutional collaboration and shared learning among Africa’s leading universities and health actors. Participants will:

  • Strengthen partnerships and shared tools for tackling health challenges through joint programming;
  • Showcase workforce development models that align with Africa’s evolving health needs;
  • Review and adapt community-led models that can be scaled or integrated into academic and policy frameworks;
  • Develop tangible commitments to advance AHC’s collective goals beyond the Convening.

Through these discussions, the Convening will help transform innovation into implementation — ensuring promising solutions are embedded in policy, scaled through institutions, and sustained through African leadership.

Distinguished Participation

The Kigali Convening will host a distinguished group of leaders from across Africa and beyond, including:

Their participation reflects the growing recognition of AHC as a convener of action-oriented dialogue on health systems in Africa and a catalyst for collaborative, system-wide transformation.

This year’s Africa Health Collaborative convening will showcase further innovation milestones and launch a new era policy co-creation framework, said Dr. Nhlanhla Thwala, Vice Chancellor of the African Leadership University and Chair of the Executive Steering Committee, Africa Health Collaborative.

Watch the opening ceremony live on YouTube:

Scenes from last year’s Convening

More News & Events

Scroll with the left and right arrow keys

Beyond the Pitch: The Stories Driving FemSTEM Africa 2025

In Kigali, six women took the stage — each carrying a story shaped by experience. From newborn survival to menstrual health and maternal care, their ventures were more than ideas; they were solutions born from lived realities.

2026-2027 Graduate Scholarships Open at the University of Toronto

We are pleased to announce the start of the 2026-2027 Mastercard Foundation graduate scholarship recruitment at the University of Toronto. This scholarship opportunity is open to recent alumni and graduating students at our Africa Health Collaborative partner universities. These graduate scholarships will be awarded to those individuals who have demonstrated academic excellence in the associated health-related […]

Internship Opportunities Open in Ghana

The Africa Health Collaborative Secretariat is seeking two interns based in Ghana to support the communications team. See details of the two roles below. Communications Associate Position Overview  The Communications Associate will play a key role in driving Africa Health Collaborative’s visibility and storytelling efforts. This individual will research priority health topics, engage partners and program leads, […]

2026-2027 Doctor of Public Health Scholarships Open

We are pleased to announce the start of the 2026-2027 Mastercard Foundation graduate scholarship recruitment at the University of Toronto. This doctoral scholarship opportunity is open to recent alumni and graduating students at our Africa Health Collaborative partner universities. These graduate scholarships will be awarded to individuals who have demonstrated academic excellence in associated health-related disciplines […]

AfyaFest 2025 

Hosted by Amref Health Africa Who Can Participate  Participants will include invited student-led teams and early-stage entrepreneurs from Ghana, Kenya, Rwanda, South Africa, Ethiopia, Senegal, Zambia, and Canada—ensuring a rich mix of perspectives and experiences.  The Experience Three days. One goal: Transform ideas into impact.  FAQ We’re spotlighting solutions in four urgent health priorities:  Maternal […]

Artificial Intelligence & the Future of Healthcare in Africa

Amid shifting global dynamics, higher education institutions have a powerful opportunity to lead a new era of innovation in primary healthcare (PHC) systems. In the next episode of the Health in Africa Series, we explore practical strategies that academic institutions can apply to strengthen PHC systems, especially in resource-constrained settings.