Africa Health Collaborative 2025: Driving Transformative Change in Primary Healthcare Future

Category
Spotlight
Country
Rwanda
Pillar
Network Learning & Development

Last October, over 170 policymakers, health experts, academics, and youth innovators from 14 countries came together for the Africa Health Collaborative’s (AHC) 2025 Annual Convening, hosted by the African Leadership University (ALU) in Kigali, Rwanda.

The gathering set a bold plan to contribute towards transforming Africa’s health systems through scaling youth-led innovation, advancing workforce development, strengthening policy, and deepening regional and international collaboration. The impactful convening, held under the theme, ‘From Potential to Impact: Advancing Africa’s Health Workforce and Innovation Ecosystems,’ featured in-depth peer learning, expert dialogues, and showcases focused on workforce resilience, entrepreneurship, and applied health innovation.

Distinguished guests included Veda Sunassee, CEO of ALU; Ivan Ntwali, Rwanda Country Director at the Mastercard Foundation; Ashley Collier, Director, Special Programs at the Mastercard Foundation; Dr. John Nkengasong, Executive Director, Higher Education, Collaboratives, & Strategic Initiatives at the Mastercard Foundation; and Jeanne Umuhire, Deputy Director of the Rwanda Biomedical Centre, among many other influential healthcare leaders from across the continent and beyond.

In his opening address, Veda Sunassee, CEO of the ALU, highlighted the enduring relationship between his institution and other AHC partners:

“This convening sits squarely within the framework of ALU – health is a social good, and an economic engine. It creates jobs, it drives innovation and demands leaders who blend empathy with execution. Universities, like ours and all of our partners in the collaborative, must be catalysts for training young people for digital fluency, entrepreneurial problem solving, and systems thinking.”

Veda Sunassee,
CEO of ALU
Ashley Collier, Director, Special Programs at the Mastercard Foundation
Ivan Ntwali, Rwanda Country Director at the Mastercard Foundation

Delivering the keynote address, Jeanne Umuhire, Deputy Director of the Rwanda Biomedical Centre, reaffirmed Rwanda’s national commitment to innovation and workforce growth, with a plan to quadruple the national health workforce by 2028. She highlighted successful local innovations, such as the Zipline drone delivery system for medical supplies, as proof of what African-led ingenuity can achieve. However, she warned, ‘Without long-term investment in local innovation, we risk building health systems that are unsustainable without foreign aid’. Her speech urged stakeholders to align initiatives with national health priorities and invest in homegrown solutions that ensure long-term impact and ownership.

Jeanne Umuhire, Deputy Director of the Rwanda Biomedical Centre

Key Outcomes

Advancing Policy and Health Workforce Reform

A standout outcome from the convening was the launch of bold continental policy proposals to address systemic barriers to health workforce employment and mobility. Participants called for the creation of an African Health Workforce Mobility Framework. This integrated system enables health talent to work across borders by leveraging existing regional agreements, such as the African Continental Free Trade Area, and collaborating with regulators and networks like the AHC to harmonize accreditation and support cross-border deployment. Delegates also championed a “whole-of-government” approach that aligns the health, education, and labour ministries to close workforce gaps and ensure that training leads to meaningful employment.

On the left: Prof. Ellis Owusu-Dabo, former Pro-Vice-Chancellor of KNUST
On the left: Dr. Dawit Wondimagegn – Associate Professor, College of Health Sciences, AAU
On the left: Prof. Joachim Osur, Vice Chancellor of AMIU; On the right: Prof. Joseph Wong, Vice President, International U of T

Panellists, including Prof. Ellis Owusu-Dabo, former Pro-Vice-Chancellor of the Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology, emphasized that Africa’s health workforce challenge is one of surplus and scarcity existing simultaneously, and requiring better coordination. In Ghana alone, more than 45,000 trained nurses remain unemployed, highlighting a clear mismatch between training outputs and the needs of the health system.

Empowering Faculty and Reforming Curriculum

Sessions on faculty development and curriculum reform highlighted the need to align Africa’s health education systems with modern workforce realities. Key recommendations included:

Community Health and Rural Innovation

Discussions also underscored the importance of inclusive healthcare models for rural and underserved populations. Recommendations included:

Investing in Youth Entrepreneurship

The convening also featured a transformative Founders’ Showcase. Philanthropists, founders, funders and healthcare experts were introduced to burgeoning enterprises that covered healthcare innovations ranging from menstrual care to digital healthcare systems and healthcare supply chain optimization.

Dr Nhlanhla Thwala, outgoing AHC Executive Steering Committee Chair and Vice-President of ALU, emphasized the importance of the AHC’s mission to create 20,000 jobs and “expand access to quality care to communities across the continent.”

Dr Nhlanhla Thwala, outgoing AHC Executive Steering Committee Chair and Vice-President of ALU

Looking Ahead

Commitments and Key Outcomes

Building on progress from previous years, the convening produced tangible institutional and policy commitments for 2026. These include new scholarships, research collaborations, policy dialogues, internships, and innovation investments to strengthen primary healthcare (PHC) systems across Africa.

Innovation, Technology & Digital Health
Capacity Building, Training & Scholarships
Community Health, Indigenous Knowledge & Entrepreneurship
Passing the Mantle: A Symbolic Transition to Kenya

To close, in a ceremony led by Professor Thwala, the Collaborative presented traditional Rwandan attire, a shield and spear, and a carved map of Africa – symbols of leadership, guardianship, and continental stewardship – to Professor Joachim Osur, Vice Chancellor of AMREF International University, signifying the 2026 hosting transition to Kenya. Professor Osur was confirmed as the new Steering Committee Chair and Amref Health Africa as the next host of the AHC annual convening.

Watch the recap

Opening Ceremony and Policy Dialogue

Founders Showcase Highlights

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