Last month, the Africa Health Collaborative (AHC) 2025 Annual Convening brought together policymakers, health experts, and youth innovators to define an ambitious new agenda for the continent’s healthcare. It was hosted by the African Leadership University (ALU).
The gathering set a course focused on scaling youth-led innovation, advancing the health workforce, strengthening policy, and deepening international collaboration.
Held at the Kigali Marriott Hotel under the theme, ‘From Potential to Impact: Advancing Africa’s Health Workforce and Innovation Ecosystems,’ the convening featured expert dialogues and peer learning centered on workforce resilience, entrepreneurship, and applied health innovation.
The AHC is a multi-stakeholder partnership of nine African higher education institutions and the Mastercard Foundation dedicated to strengthening Africa’s healthcare systems.
Dignitaries included Rwanda’s Minister of Education, Joseph Nsengimana; ALU CEO, Veda Sunassee; Africa CDC Director, Dr. John Nkengasong; and Deputy Director of the Rwanda Biomedical Centre, Jeanne Umuhire, alongside influential leaders from the University of Toronto, Mastercard Foundation, and institutions across the continent.
In his opening, ALU CEO Veda Sunassee framed health as both a social good and an economic engine, urging universities to be “catalysts to train young people for digital fluency, for entrepreneurial problem solving, and for systems thinking.” Minister Nsengimana echoed this, asserting that turning Africa’s “talent in abundance” into “better service, better jobs, and better lives” must run “through our universities.”
The convening delivered concrete commitments and policy proposals for 2026, aimed at strengthening Primary Healthcare (PHC) systems through new scholarships, research, and innovation investments.
Key institutional highlights include:
- ALU pledging support for over 50 student and alumni ventures and expanding internships aligned with PHC needs.
- Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology (KNUST) announcing a new AI in Health programme and an academy for mentoring founders.
- Addis Ababa University (AAU) offering 80 graduate scholarships, launching a national PHC radio programme, and expanding its partnership with the University of Toronto.
- AIMS funding 57 Mastercard Foundation Scholars for MSc programs in Mathematical Epidemiology.
- AMREF International University establishing a new Innovation Centre for digital, cost-effective health solutions.
A significant outcome was the call for bold continental policy changes to tackle systemic barriers in health employment and mobility.
Participants advocated for the African Union to establish an African Health Workforce Mobility Framework to harmonize accreditation and facilitate the cross-border deployment of health professionals. They also pushed for a ‘whole-of-government’ strategy—aligning health, education, and labour ministries—to close workforce gaps.
Panellists argued that Africa’s health workforce crisis is one of coordination, not scarcity. As an example, Professor Ellis Owusu-Dabo pointed out that in Ghana alone, over 45,000 trained nurses remain unemployed, highlighting a disconnect between training and system demand.
Rwanda’s commitment to growth was reaffirmed by Jeanne Umuhire, who shared a plan to quadruple the national health workforce by 2028. While celebrating African-led successes like the Zipline drone delivery system, she cautioned against overreliance on external funding, urging stakeholders to invest in homegrown solutions for long-term sustainability and ownership.
Sessions on curriculum reform emphasized the urgent need to align health education with modern workforce demands:
- Curriculum Revolution: Preparing graduates for job creation, not just jobs, by integrating digital health, AI, systems thinking, and leadership training.
- Faculty Development: Institutionalizing continuous training and strengthening regional mentorship and knowledge-sharing under the AHC.
Discussions also focused on achieving inclusive care, especially for rural and underserved communities:
- Rural Models: Strengthening task-sharing and telemedicine to close gaps.
- Community Health: Formalizing pathways to professionalize and fairly compensate community health workers.
- Local Knowledge: Integrating indigenous knowledge and investing in digital infrastructure and blended learning for rural practitioners.
The event closed with a Founders’ Showcase, connecting philanthropists and funders with youth-led enterprises covering innovations from digital healthcare systems to supply chain optimization. Dr. Nhlanhla Thwala, outgoing AHC Executive Steering Committee Chair, underscored the Collaborative’s mission to create 20,000 jobs and “expand access to quality care to communities across the continent.”
The 2026 Convening will be hosted by AMREF International University in Nairobi, with Professor Osur confirmed as the new Steering Committee Chair.