Healthy Learners
Healthy Learners is a 501(c)(3) non-profit that trains Zambian primary school teachers as community health workers using a mobile clinical assessment app, delivering school-based healthcare to 1.99M children across 882 public primary schools in partnership with the Zambian Government.
- Company typePrivate
- Founded2013
- HeadquartersLusaka, Zambia
- Headcount101–250
- GTM typeB2B
- OfferingServices
What Healthy Learners does
Healthy Learners is a US-incorporated 501(c)(3) non-profit organization operating in Zambia, founded in 2013 by Lonnie Hackett and Ignicious Bulongo to address the gap in healthcare access for school-aged children in sub-Saharan Africa. The organization trains public primary school teachers as School Health Workers who use a mobile clinical assessment application — developed in partnership with THINKMD — to screen, triage, treat, and refer sick students following WHO-compliant clinical logic. The program also establishes school health rooms, delivers health education, and links schools with existing government health facilities through referral systems. A buddy-system model enables peer-based proactive identification of unwell students.
The organization delivers its model through direct partnership with the Zambian Ministries of Health and Education, leveraging existing government infrastructure and personnel rather than building parallel systems. In 2020, Healthy Learners expanded to all public primary schools in Lusaka at the Ministry of Education's request, more than doubling coverage to over 250,000 students; in 2021, the Zambian Government adopted the model as national policy and signed an MoU for national replication over three years, establishing a dedicated School Health and Nutrition department within the Ministry of Education. Healthy Learners currently reaches 1.99M children across 882 public primary schools at an annual ongoing cost of $1.46 per child.
Healthy Learners is funded entirely through philanthropic donations and grants, with a diversified base of 15+ major foundation funders including the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, ELMA Philanthropies, UBS Optimus Foundation, Cartier Philanthropies, Draper Richards Kaplan Foundation, and Mulago Foundation. Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health conducted a controlled impact study documenting a 38% reduction in student disease morbidity, 48% increase in vitamin A and deworming coverage, 52% reduction in stunting odds, and 22% increase in student health knowledge. The organization is led by co-founders Lonnie Hackett (CEO) and Ignicious Bulongo (Chief Visionary Officer), with a senior team drawing from mPharma, Medic Mobile, Google Health, mothers2mothers, Jhpiego, and other global health organizations.
Healthy Learners firmographics
Firmographics- Name
- Healthy Learners
- Legal name
- Healthy Learners
- Website
- https://healthylearners.org
- Company type
- Private
- Founded year
- 2013
- Operating status
- Operating
- Headcount range
- 101–250 employees
- Short description
- Healthy Learners is a 501(c)(3) non-profit that trains Zambian primary school teachers as community health workers using a mobile clinical assessment app, delivering school-based healthcare to 1.99M children across 882 public primary schools in partnership with the Zambian Government.
- Ownership category
- akta.pro rank
Healthy Learners industry classification
Industry- Product category
- School-Based Community Health Services
- NAICS
- Elementary and Secondary Schools (6111), Child and Youth Services (62411), Educational Support Services (611710)
- SIC
- Services-Health Services (8000), Services-Educational Services (8200), Services-Misc Health & Allied Services, Nec (8090)
- akta.pro primary industry
- Student Wellness & Prevention Programs (Substance Use, Sexual Health, Bullying) (EDAJAIAG)
- akta.pro secondary industries
- Physical Education & Health Instruction (EDAJAFAL), School & Campus Public Health Departments (HLAJAAAG)
Keywords
Where Healthy Learners is headquartered
LocationHeadquarters
- HQ city
- Lusaka
- HQ country
- Zambia
- HQ region
- Africa
Offices2 records
Markets served
Healthy Learners business model
Business model- GTM type
- B2B
- Offering type
- Services
- Cost components
- Personnel, Operations, Marketing or Sales, Technology or R&D, Infrastructure
Revenue model
- Donations and Grants: Healthy Learners is a registered 501(c)(3) non-profit organization. Revenue is generated through charitable donations from individuals and organizations. All donations are tax-deductible.
Pricing tiers
| Model | Billing | Price |
|---|---|---|
| Other | Annual | School health program delivery |
Distribution channels1 record
Marketing channels5 records
Healthy Learners product offering
Product offeringCore offering
Healthy Learners operates a comprehensive school-based community health program in Zambia that trains select teachers as School Health Workers to deliver integrated clinical screening, treatment, referrals, health education, and preventative care for school-aged children in public primary schools. The model is implemented through a ten-step process leveraging existing government infrastructure, supported by a mobile clinical assessment application (developed with THINKMD) that enables physician-level diagnostics and WHO-compliant triage, with geo-tagged data driving disease surveillance and program performance management.
Product overview
Healthy Learners operates a unified School Health Program built around a core school-based community health model. The program centers on training teachers as School Health Workers who use a mobile clinical assessment application (developed in partnership with THINKMD) to screen, treat, and refer sick students. The model also includes establishing health rooms at schools, health education curricula, and preventative care services. A COVID-19 Response Program was added during the pandemic to help schools reopen safely. The company is working with the Zambian government to scale this integrated model nationally through the Ministry of Education's School Health and Nutrition department.
Differentiator
Problem solved
Functional benefit
Products and services
- School Health Program
Quantifiable outcome
- 38% reduction in student disease morbidity
- +4 more outcomes
Companies that use Healthy Learners
Customer profileNamed customers3 records
Segments3 records
Ideal customer profiles3 records
Healthy Learners technology and API
TechnologyTechnology focussed No
API detail
- Has API
- No
- API docs
- API detail
Core technology
AI maturity
App detail
Integration2 records
AI capability5 records
Feature3 records
Healthy Learners partnerships and signals
Strategic signalPartnerships
Five partnerships are on record, tiered core and flagship.
- THINKMDcoreTechnology partnership for mobile clinical assessment application. THINKMD's platform enables School Health Workers to provide integrated clinical assessments to accurately diagnose sick children using physician-level logic and WHO guideline-compliant recommendations.
- Zambian Ministry of HealthflagshipClose working relationship for integrating school health into government health systems. Partnership reflected in adoption of model as policy.
- Zambian Ministry of EducationflagshipMinistry has established a new department for School Health and Nutrition as the government's vehicle to scale and sustain the program. Signed MoU to scale the model nationally over three years. Tasked Healthy Learners as lead technical advisor for COVID-19 school reopening guidelines.
- Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public HealthcoreConducted controlled impact study finding significant improvements in student health outcomes including 38% reduction in disease morbidity and 22% increase in health knowledge.
- HarvardcoreHarvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health conducted impact study on the program.
Scale indicators11 records
Recent moves8 records
Expansion highlights6 records
Healthy Learners competitors and assessment
Company assessmentDirect peers
- Last Mile Health: Global non-profit that trains community health workers to deliver primary healthcare in last-mile communities across Africa. Highly comparable mission (CHW-led health access for underserved populations), with analogous operating model (workforce training + government partnership + donor funding).
- BRAC: Large international development non-profit that operates school health, education, and community health worker programs across multiple developing countries. Closely comparable multi-country operating model and integration of health and education programming.
- Living Goods: Non-profit supporting community health workers in sub-Saharan Africa with mobile tools, training, and supervision. Direct comparable: CHW-driven model in East Africa with technology enablement and government partnership structure.
- THINKMD: Clinical assessment technology platform used by frontline health workers in low-resource settings. Direct tech partner of Healthy Learners — overlapping capability in mobile clinical assessment, WHO-guideline triage, and CHW enablement.
Emerging players
- mothers2mothers: African health non-profit employing mentor mothers to deliver health services and drive outcomes for families. Closely comparable African non-profit health delivery model; Healthy Learners' Vice Chair Chad Rathner is CEO of mothers2mothers.
- Namati: Non-profit building networks of community health workers and legal advocates in low-resource settings. Comparable community-based service delivery model; Healthy Learners' Senior Director Stu Merkel previously held leadership at Namati.
- Medic Mobile: Non-profit building open-source digital health tools for community health workers globally. Comparable digital health/CHW intersection (Healthy Learners' CTO Maeghan Orton previously led there), with partial overlap in the school health use case.
Broad incumbents
- PATH: Global health non-profit working across vaccines, drugs, diagnostics, and service delivery in low- and middle-income countries. Comparable donor base (including Gates) and global health operating model, though broader in scope.
- UNICEF (School Health Programming): UN agency running school health and child wellness programs globally, including in Zambia. Comparable school-age child health focus but at multilateral scale; Healthy Learners effectively operates the on-the-ground implementation layer that complements UNICEF's systems-level work.
- Partners in Health: Major global health non-profit delivering health services in low-resource settings across multiple continents. Broader scope (clinical care, hospitals, infectious disease) but analogous government-partnered service delivery model in sub-Saharan Africa.
Market position
Strengths4 records
Weaknesses4 records
Competitive moat6 records
Key risks5 records
Key highlights7 records
Customer concentration
Healthy Learners social profiles
Digital presenceHealthy Learners compliance and trust
Trust signalCompliance1 record
Healthy Learners financial estimates
Financial estimateRevenue estimate
Valuation estimate
Healthy Learners leadership team
Management profileNumber of profiles
Profiles18 records
Healthy Learners funding detail
Funding detailFunding overview
Funding rounds4 records
Investors2 records
Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →
Healthy Learners M&A and investment
M&A and investmentM&A
Investments
M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →
Frequently asked questions about Healthy Learners
What does Healthy Learners do?
Healthy Learners operates a comprehensive school-based community health program in Zambia that trains select teachers as School Health Workers to deliver integrated clinical screening, treatment, referrals, health education, and preventative care for school-aged children in public primary schools. The model is implemented through a ten-step process leveraging existing government infrastructure, supported by a mobile clinical assessment application (developed with THINKMD) that enables physician-level diagnostics and WHO-compliant triage, with geo-tagged data driving disease surveillance and program performance management.
Is Healthy Learners a public or private company?
Healthy Learners is a private company. It is classified as nonprofit foundation owned and is currently operating.
When was Healthy Learners founded?
Healthy Learners was founded in 2013. It employs 101 to 250 people.
Where is Healthy Learners based?
Healthy Learners is headquartered in Lusaka, Zambia, in the Africa region.
How does Healthy Learners make money?
One revenue line is on record: donations and Grants.
Who are Healthy Learners's main competitors?
Direct peers on record are Last Mile Health, BRAC, Living Goods and THINKMD. Emerging players are mothers2mothers, Namati and Medic Mobile. Broad incumbents are PATH, UNICEF (School Health Programming) and Partners in Health.
Does Healthy Learners have an API?
No public API is recorded for Healthy Learners.
What industry is Healthy Learners in?
Healthy Learners's product category is School-Based Community Health Services. Its primary akta.pro industry code is EDAJAIAG, Student Wellness & Prevention Programs (Substance Use, Sexual Health, Bullying), with a secondary code of EDAJAFAL, Physical Education & Health Instruction. Its NAICS code is 6111 and its SIC code is 8000.