Africa Public Health Foundation

What Africa Public Health Foundation does

Africa Public Health Foundation (APHF) is a nonprofit charitable foundation established in September 2019 and registered in Mauritius with operational headquarters in Nairobi, Kenya. It exists as the dedicated resource-mobilization and grants-management platform for the Africa Centres for Disease Control and Prevention (Africa CDC), formalizing that role through a strategic partnership agreement signed in July 2025. APHF channels grants from global foundations, philanthropists, corporations, and development partners into Africa CDC's five Flagship Programmes — covering healthcare worker protection, primary healthcare strengthening, National Public Health Institutes, laboratory capacity, and medical countermeasures manufacturing — and re-grants those funds to implementing partners (Red Cross societies, ASLM, Project Hope, Action Aid, Caritas) operating across African Union Member States.

The foundation's service portfolio comprises a core grants-management and fiscal-hosting platform, the Partnership to Accelerate COVID-19 Testing (PACT), the Regional Integrated Surveillance and Laboratory Network (RISLNET) co-financing, the EU HERA-funded genomic surveillance programme (Africa PGI / DETECT) across 12 AU Member States, the Novo Nordisk Foundation-funded Non-Communicable Disease surveillance workforce programme across 10 AU Member States, and the Africa CDC Biobanking Network. APHF itself does not develop proprietary technology products; the underlying surveillance, laboratory, and genomic platforms are operated by Africa CDC.

APHF's business model is grant-funded philanthropy rather than commercial revenue. Through November 2022 it had raised approximately US$30 million cumulatively, with a single US$12 million Rockefeller Foundation grant (December 2020) accounting for roughly 40% of that total. Cumulative fundraising has since grown to roughly US$55 million per the foundation's own website. The organization operates with 1–10 employees and outsources program implementation to a network of NGO and civil-society partners across 55 African Union Member States. Leadership has been notably transitional — Dr. Francisco Songane (two interim CEO tenures, most recently from July 2024) and Dr. Ebere Okereke (CEO February 2023–May 2024) have both led the foundation, with Dr. Ambrose Otau Talisuna announced as incoming permanent CEO effective July 1, 2026.

Name

Africa Public Health Foundation

Legal name

Africa Public Health Foundation

Website

https://aphf.africa

Company type

Private

Founded year

2019

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

1–10 employees

Short description

Africa Public Health Foundation is a Mauritius-registered, Nairobi-based nonprofit foundation that mobilizes and manages grants from global donors to support Africa CDC's continental public health programs across 55 African Union Member States.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Public Health Nonprofit Foundation Services

NAICS

Voluntary Health Organizations (813212), Grantmaking and Giving Services (81321)

SIC

Services-Misc Health & Allied Services, Nec (8090), Services-Social Services (8300)

akta.pro primary industry

International & Local Implementing NGOs (HLAJAKAD)

akta.pro secondary industries

Humanitarian Health Coordination & Emergency Response Partnerships (HLAJAOAI), Global Health Financing Mechanisms & Pooled Funds (HLAJAOAC), Disease-Specific Global Programs (HIV/TB/Malaria/NTDs) (HLAJAKAF)

Keywords

• Public health partnerships
• Grant management services
• Resource mobilization
• Health workforce development
• Disease surveillance programs

Headquarters

HQ city

Nairobi

HQ country

Kenya

HQ region

Africa

Offices2 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Technology or R&D, Marketing or Sales, Others

Revenue model

1. Foundation/Grant Funding: APHF raises funds from global foundations, African philanthropists, corporations, and development partners to support Africa CDC's public health priorities including COVID-19 response, outbreak preparedness, health systems strengthening, and vaccine equity initiatives.

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels3 records

Marketing channels10 records

Core offering

Africa Public Health Foundation is a nonprofit charitable foundation that mobilizes resources and manages grants to support the public health initiatives of the Africa Centres for Disease Control and Prevention (Africa CDC). It serves as a partnership platform coordinating funders, implementing partners, and 55 African Union Member States to deliver disease surveillance, laboratory networks, community health worker programs, vaccination support, and emergency outbreak response across Africa. Its service lines include fiscal hosting, grants administration, partnership coordination, and capacity-building programmes such as PACT, RISLNET, the EU HERA Genomic Surveillance Programme, and the NCD Surveillance Workforce Development Programme.

Product overview

Africa Public Health Foundation operates as a partnership platform and grant management organisation rather than a traditional software product company. Its core offering is a coordinated suite of public health programmes supporting Africa CDC's mission, including the Partnership to Accelerate COVID-19 Testing (PACT), the Regional Integrated Surveillance and Laboratory Network (RISLNET), EU HERA Genomic Surveillance Programme, and NCD Workforce Development Programme. These programmes work together to strengthen continental health systems through resource mobilisation, grants management, capacity building, and technical support across disease surveillance, laboratory networks, emergency response, and workforce development.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Resource Mobilisation and Grants Management Platform Core service platform that mobilises resources and manages grants to support Africa CDC's public health initiatives across the African continent, serving as the primary mechanism for partnership coordination and funding operations with governments, foundations, and implementing partners.
• Partnership to Accelerate COVID-19 Testing (PACT) Initiative that mobilises experts, community workers, supplies, and other resources to test, trace, and treat COVID-19 cases across African Union Member States, supporting testing and contact tracing activities spanning 14 countries and training hundreds of community health workers.
• Africa CDC Biobanking Network (AFCAD Biobanking) Network of biobanks established under the African Collaborative Initiative to Advance Diagnostics (AFCAD) to facilitate development, evaluation, and research on diagnostics for disease control and prevention across nine AU member state countries.
• COVID-19 Vaccine Roll-Out Pooled Fund Funding mechanism redirecting resources to support COVID-19 vaccination efforts, enabling over 1.7 million vaccinations, supporting 1,415 vaccination centres, and training 18,744 personnel across the delivery chain.
• Fiscal Hosting Services Administrative and financial management services provided to partners and donors to facilitate transparent, accountable utilisation of programme funds in line with donor requirements.
• NCD Surveillance Workforce Development Programme Two-year initiative (June 2025–May 2027) funded by the Novo Nordisk Foundation (US$2.65m grant) to strengthen public health workforce capacity for Non-Communicable Disease surveillance across 10 African Union Member States, integrating NCD indicators into existing Field Epidemiology Training Programme frontline courses.

Quantifiable outcome

• 500,000+ rapid COVID-19 tests distributed across 12 countries
• +5 more outcomes

Named customers7 records

Segments4 records

Ideal customer profiles4 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Partnerships

Eight partnerships are on record, tiered core and major.

• Africa CDC Institute of Pathogen Genomics (Africa PGI)coreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 November 2022APHF serves as key implementing and grant management partner for EU HERA-funded initiative supporting Africa PGI's Integrated Genomic Surveillance for Outbreak Detection (DETECT) Project spanning 12 AU Member States.
• Africa Centres for Disease Control and Prevention (Africa CDC)coreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2020Primary strategic partner. APHF exists to forge partnerships and mobilise resources in support of Africa CDC's mission. Formal agreement signed in July 2024 to strengthen health systems in AU Member States. APHF coordinates resource mobilization and grants management for Africa CDC's five Flagship Programmes.
• African Society for Laboratory Medicine (ASLM)majorImplementation/ SI/ Consulting Partner · 1 January 2020Implementing partner for quality assurance of COVID-19 antigenic rapid diagnostic tests. ASLM conducted training of trainers, site assessments using SPI-RT tool, and certified 108 assessors across 10 countries in West, East, and Central Africa.
• Baphalali Eswatini Red Cross SocietymajorImplementation/ SI/ Consulting Partner · 1 January 2020Implementing partner for COVID-19 response through PACT. Deployed 205-250 Community Health Workers trained in surveillance, contact tracing, IPC, risk communication, and community engagement for vaccine uptake.
• Project Hope NamibiamajorImplementation/ SI/ Consulting Partner · 1 January 2020Implementing partner in Namibia. 403 Community Health Workers trained and deployed for COVID-19 response including vaccination support, contact tracing, and community engagement.
• Red Cross CongomajorImplementation/ SI/ Consulting Partner · 1 January 2020Implementing partner in Republic of Congo. 735 Community Health Workers deployed - the largest CHW deployment among PACT implementing partners. Supported vaccination efforts in rural and urban areas across 37 health districts.
• Caritas ASBL (DRC)majorImplementation/ SI/ Consulting Partner · 1 January 2020Implementing partner in Democratic Republic of Congo. 200 Community Health Workers trained and deployed for COVID-19 response including contact tracing and community engagement.
• Action Aid LiberiamajorImplementation/ SI/ Consulting Partner · 1 January 2020Implementing partner in Liberia. 225 Community Health Workers trained and deployed for COVID-19 contact tracing and community engagement.

Scale indicators10 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights6 records

Direct peers

• Gavi, the Vaccine Alliance: Gavi is a global pooled-financing mechanism that mobilizes resources from donors and channels them to low-income countries for immunization, mirroring APHF's model of pooling philanthropic and institutional funds and channeling them through implementing partners and ministries of health.
• The Global Fund to Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria: The Global Fund is a pooled international financing mechanism that raises and disburses donor capital for disease-specific programs in partnership with country governments and implementing partners, the same architecture APHF replicates at a continental level for Africa CDC.
• Clinton Health Access Initiative (CHAI): CHAI partners with governments and operates negotiated-financing and grants-management programs across Africa and Asia, comparable to APHF's role in supporting national ministries of health with technical assistance and resource mobilization.
• Foundation for Innovative New Diagnostics (FIND): FIND mobilizes global donor funding and partners with public health bodies to expand access to diagnostics in low- and middle-income countries, directly analogous to APHF's support of laboratory capacity, RISLNET, and the Africa Pathogen Genomics Initiative.
• Resolve to Save Lives: Resolve to Save Lives is a global health organization that co-funds and co-implements epidemic preparedness and cardiovascular health programs; APHF is listed as an active co-funder and partner on the COVID-19 antigen testing quality assurance work, making it a close operating peer.

Broad incumbents

• Wellcome Trust: Wellcome is a large, established global health foundation that funds research, pandemic preparedness, and partnerships across Africa; it is comparable to APHF as a grantmaking institution but operates at vastly larger scale across multiple continents.
• Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation: The Gates Foundation is one of APHF's largest donors and the dominant global health philanthropy; it is comparable in mission and grantmaking orientation but operates at incomparably larger scale with a global rather than Africa-only focus.
• Conrad N. Hilton Foundation: The Hilton Foundation is a documented APHF funder for COVID-19 vaccination equity work; it is comparable as a mission-driven grantmaker that channels philanthropic capital into multi-country public health programs.
• Mastercard Foundation: Mastercard Foundation collaborates with Africa CDC and APHF on health workforce development and has co-hosted UN General Assembly side events; it is comparable as a large philanthropic partner targeting African public health priorities.

Emerging players

• Skoll Foundation: The Skoll Foundation supports social entrepreneurs tackling global challenges including health; APHF has participated in the Skoll World Forum as a partner, making Skoll a thematic peer in the philanthropic-health ecosystem.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks5 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• Xx.com/africaphf
• Facebookfacebook.com/APHFAfrica
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/africa-public-health-foundation

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles4 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds1 record

Investors1 record

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M&A

Investments

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Frequently asked questions about Africa Public Health Foundation