Health Rights Advocacy Forum

What Health Rights Advocacy Forum does

Health Rights Advocacy Forum (HERAF) is a Kenyan national non-governmental organization founded in 2006 and registered by the NGO Coordination Board in 2007, headquartered in Nairobi. Its work concentrates on three programmatic pillars: removing legal and human-rights barriers to healthcare access, advancing universal access to a resilient health system (including response to epidemics and climate impact), and strengthening citizen voice and accountability in health governance, particularly for poor, vulnerable and marginalized populations. HERAF is not a technology or product company; its delivery model is community-led advocacy combining capacity building, community scorecards, public expenditure tracking, and advocacy forums, executed through CBO/CSO networks and county government partnerships across at least seven Kenyan counties (Kwale, Embu, Nyeri, Machakos, Kilifi, Isiolo, Makadara). Recent focus areas include integrating mental health services at primary healthcare level through tools such as PHQ-9 screening via KOBO Collect and the launch of a Mental Health Service Charter at Tiwi Rural Health Training Center.

HERAF is organized around board governance and a multi-functional staff team, and serves three primary segments: poor/vulnerable populations (as ultimate beneficiaries), civil society and community-based organizations (as advocacy intermediaries), and county health management teams and health facility management committees (as public-sector counterparts). Its value proposition centers on rights-based, evidence-anchored accountability: published artifacts (policy briefs, public expenditure tracking reports, community scorecards, service charters) serve both as advocacy levers and as donor evidence products.

Business model and revenue mechanics are NGO-typical. HERAF generates no commercial revenue and does not charge for its advocacy and accountability services. Funding comes primarily from grants and donor support sourced through development partners and funders such as the Kenya Community Development Fund (KCDF), with implicit reliance on overseas development assistance that exposes the organization to the donor funding freeze flagged in its own 2025 commentary. There is no equity, no commercial pricing model, no parent company, and no disclosed revenue figure. The organization operates a multi-channel communications stack (website, blogs, newsletters, conferences, social media, publications) targeting both grassroots and policy audiences, with no proprietary AI, software product, or commercial SaaS offering.

Name

Health Rights Advocacy Forum

Legal name

Health Rights Advocacy Forum

Website

https://heraf.or.ke

Company type

Private

Founded year

2006

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

251–500 employees

Short description

Health Rights Advocacy Forum (HERAF) is a Kenyan national NGO, founded 2006, that removes healthcare access barriers and strengthens citizen-led health system accountability through CBO networks and county government partnerships across multiple Kenyan counties, funded primarily via grants.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Health Advocacy Services

NAICS

Human Rights Organizations (813311), Voluntary Health Organizations (813212), Civic and Social Organizations (8134)

SIC

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

akta.pro primary industry

Global Health Systems Strengthening (BPAGABAD)

akta.pro secondary industries

Health Systems Strengthening & Global Health Technical Assistance (BPADAEAH), Global Health Research, Evidence & Technical Assistance Organizations (HLAJAKAN), Health Systems Strengthening & Universal Health Coverage (UHC) Partnerships (HLAJAOAL)

Keywords

• Health rights advocacy
• Community health governance
• Health system accountability
• Mental health advocacy
• Public health policy

Headquarters

HQ city

Nairobi

HQ country

Kenya

HQ region

Africa

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2B and B2C

Offering type

Services

Cost components

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

Revenue model

1. Grant Funding: HERAF operates as an NGO primarily funded through grants and donor funding from development partners supporting health systems strengthening, mental health, and health governance programs.

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels3 records

Marketing channels6 records

Core offering

Health Rights Advocacy Forum (HERAF) is a Kenyan non-governmental organization that delivers community-led advocacy, capacity building, and accountability programs to transform Kenya's health system. Its core work includes community scorecards, public expenditure tracking, policy advocacy, and capacity-building training for civil society organizations, community-based organizations, and county health management teams, with a specific focus on removing barriers to healthcare, advancing universal health coverage, and integrating mental health into primary healthcare.

Product overview

Health Rights Advocacy Forum (HERAF) is a national non-governmental organization focused on health system advocacy, not a technology product company. Their offerings consist of advocacy programs, published resources (policy briefs, reports, community scorecards, service charters, action plans), and community engagement initiatives including events and networking forums. They do not offer a software product, platform, or technology service.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Community-Led Advocacy (CLA) for Mental Health at Primary Healthcare Level
• CSO Capacity Building and Upskilling Program
• Community Scorecards Service
• Public Expenditure Tracking Service
• MHGAP Implementation Support for Healthcare Workers

Quantifiable outcome

• 18% increase in facility-based care for suicide attempts following decriminalization, indicating improved mental health help-seeking behavior
• +2 more outcomes

Segments3 records

Ideal customer profiles4 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Partnerships

Three partnerships are on record, tiered minor and core.

• National Council for Children (NCC)minorOthersListed as a partner organization on HERAF's website partner section, suggesting collaboration in child health and rights advocacy.
• Council of Governors (CoG)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerCollaboration on health governance at county level, supporting implementation of health programs and policies at county government level.
• Regional Psychosocial Support Initiative (REPSSI)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerCo-hosting webinars and events on mental health and psychosocial wellbeing, including Workplace Mental Health awareness initiatives.

Scale indicators1 record

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Direct peers

• AMREF Health Africa: AMREF Health Africa is one of the largest Africa-based health NGOs, headquartered in Nairobi with a strong focus on health systems strengthening, community health, advocacy, and capacity building across multiple African countries. It is the most directly comparable peer to HERAF given shared mission, geography, and community-led health advocacy approach.
• WACI Health: WACI Health is an Africa-focused health advocacy and accountability organization that works on UHC, health financing, NCDs, and civil society engagement. It is directly comparable to HERAF in scope (Kenya/regional health advocacy), funding model (grant-funded advocacy NGO), and target influencers (government and civil society).
• Health Action International (HAI): HAI is a global health advocacy NGO focused on medicines access, health systems, and policy accountability. It is comparable to HERAF as a peer advocacy organization addressing access-to-care barriers through evidence and policy engagement, though operating at global rather than Kenya-specific scale.
• Treatment Action Group (TAG): TAG is a U.S.-based health-rights advocacy organization using evidence-based activism to shape health policy and access. It is comparable to HERAF in the rights-based advocacy approach and emphasis on accountability mechanisms, though TAG operates in a different disease and geographic context.
• KANCO (Kenya AIDS NGOs Consortium): KANCO is a Kenya-based membership consortium of civil society organizations engaged in health advocacy, particularly HIV/AIDS but also broader health rights and accountability. It is highly comparable to HERAF as a domestic Kenyan CSO network using community-led advocacy to influence health governance.

Emerging players

• Africa Health Organisation (AfHO): Africa Health Organisation (also known as Action for Global Health / Africa Health partners) is an advocacy-focused Africa health NGO working on UHC, health systems, and citizen engagement. It is comparable to HERAF in mission emphasis on universal access, rights-based advocacy, and community voice.
• NCD Alliance: NCD Alliance is a global civil society network advocating for non-communicable disease policy and investment, including mental health. It is comparable to HERAF given its focus on health-rights advocacy, civil society mobilization, and engagement with government health policy.

Broad incumbents

• Save the Children Kenya: Save the Children operates in Kenya on child health, rights, and health systems advocacy. It is a broad incumbent peer to HERAF as a larger, donor-funded health-rights organization with overlapping beneficiary populations and county-level engagement.
• Kenya Red Cross Society: Kenya Red Cross is a large, established Kenyan humanitarian and health organization with national reach and government relationships. It is a broad incumbent peer to HERAF given overlapping health-rights and community engagement work, though its scope is wider (disaster response, blood services) and its resource base is far larger.

Others

• KEMRI (Kenya Medical Research Institute): KEMRI is Kenya's national health research institute, generating evidence on disease burden and health system performance. It is an adjacent/ecosystem peer to HERAF given overlap in evidence-driven health policy engagement, though its primary mission is research rather than community advocacy.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks5 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• Xx.com/HERAF_Kenya
• Facebookfacebook.com/HERAFKenya
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/heraf

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

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M&A

Investments

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Frequently asked questions about Health Rights Advocacy Forum