On October 17, 2026, the Africa Health Collaborative (AHC) and the Reach Alliance will bring together 30 young health leaders from AHC’s nine partner universities and Reach Alliance partners at Amref International University in Nairobi, Kenya for the Emerging Leaders’ Day (ELD), an official youth-focused side event linked to AHC’s 2026 Annual Convening.
Why Emerging Leaders’ Day?
Across Africa, young researchers, innovators, and health professionals are developing solutions to pressing health challenges but often have limited opportunities to influence the decisions shaping health systems and the future of work.
Emerging Leaders’ Day is designed to help close this gap by supporting young health leaders to build confidence, strengthen leadership skills, and expand networks to engage meaningfully with stakeholders and decision-makers.
Through intergenerational dialogue, interactive skills workshops, research presentations, and networking, participants will strengthen their leadership skills and their ability to contribute confidently to conversations shaping Africa’s health future.
The timing is deliberate. Emerging Leaders’ Day will serve as a launchpad for participants to enter the AHC 2026 Annual Convening with stronger voices, clearer ideas, and greater readiness to contribute to—and influence—the wider conversation.
The 2026 Convening, under the theme “Africa Unlocked: Co-creating Impactful and Sustainable Youth-led Health Innovations,” provides an important platform for this next generation of leaders to connect their ideas and innovations to broader conversations on health systems, workforce development, entrepreneurship, and sustainable change.
What to Expect
Participants will take part in:
- Research Presentations and Lightning Talks showcasing student-led and African-led health research.
- A Fireside Chat exploring leadership, accountability, and intergenerational collaboration between emerging leaders and senior health, academic, and policy leaders.
- A Giving Voice to Values Workshop helping participants navigate ethical dilemmas, articulate their values and lead with integrity in complex professional environments.
The day will also create space for participants to help shape what comes next. At its conclusion, they will vote on future skills-development priorities, helping build a sustained emerging leaders’ network that continues beyond the event and contributes to the wider AHC Convening.
Young people are not just seeking seats at the table but are actively shaping new ways of imagining Africa’s health workforce.
John Nyagaka, Chairperson of the AHC Young Leaders Committee.
Beyond the ELD, participants will carry forward key insights and recommendations into the AHC Annual Convening and join a growing network of emerging leaders committed to advancing collaboration, influencing future youth engagement initiatives, and shaping the future of health systems across Africa.
A Collaboration for Impact
The Emerging Leaders’ Day is co-created by the Reach Alliance and the Africa Health Collaborative, working through their respective teams and networks.
The Reach Alliance is a global consortium of cross-sector partners developing leaders to co-create climate, public health, and economic solutions with hard-to-reach communities. To date, Reach has supported more than 440 student researchers and alumni to produce actionable insights that have been published in academic journals and taken up by policymakers and sector leaders around the world.
The Africa Health Collaborative is a multi-year partnership between nine higher education institutions and the Mastercard Foundation, working to strengthen primary health care systems across Africa through health workforce development, education, innovation, and entrepreneurship.
Together, the Africa Health Collaborative and the Reach Alliance are creating a platform for young health leaders to move beyond participation toward meaningful influence, shaping the future of health systems across Africa and beyond.
Event Participation
Emerging Leaders’ Day is an invitation-only event for selected participants.
For more information, visit: https://reachalliance.org/event/2026-emerging-leaders-day/.
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