International Working Group for Health Systems Strengthening

What International Working Group for Health Systems Strengthening does

The International Working Group for Health Systems Strengthening (IWG) is a privately held, youth-founded and youth-led non-profit global health think tank and policy institute established around 2020. The organization convenes emerging public health professionals across six WHO-aligned regional hubs — Africa, Americas, Eastern Mediterranean, Europe, Southeast Asia, and Western Pacific — through a community-based model spanning 13 or more countries. Its core activities are organized around three pillars: knowledge generation and sharing (think tank sessions, position papers, blog publications, bi-monthly newsletters, and the annual Youth Global Health Report), advocacy aimed at centering voices previously excluded from public health dialogues, and capacity strengthening via training programs, workshops, and mentorship.

IWG's "products" are programmatic rather than technological: the Global Community Network, five active thematic working groups (Global Book and Film Club, Global Lecture Series, Global Vaccine Equity, Health System Futurity, Global Health Mosaic), regional hubs, Think Tank sessions, the Publications Archive, the Global Steering Group (established 2024 as a centralized governance body), and the annual Youth Global Health Report. The underlying platform is a WordPress-hosted website (iwghss.org) with no native app, no API, no proprietary technology stack, and no AI/ML components; distribution is exclusively digital and free-of-charge via the website and five social channels (Facebook, Twitter/X, Instagram, LinkedIn, TikTok).

IWG does not generate commercial revenue. It is a non-profit organization with no pricing model, no disclosed headcount, no paying customers, and no investors. Operational support comes from programmatic partnerships and grants, including a 2022 MOU with EQUINET, 2025 collaborations with the Every Breath Counts Coalition and FIRS, and 2025 selection as a top-15 recipient of seed funding from the Africa CDC Bingwa+ Y-Health Programme out of nearly 2,000 applicants. Governance features strong female representation, with 75% women on the steering committee and 78% women across the broader IWG community.

Name

International Working Group for Health Systems Strengthening

Legal name

International Working Group for Health Systems Strengthening

Website

https://iwghss.org

Company type

Private

Founded year

2020

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Short description

International Working Group for Health Systems Strengthening is a youth-led non-profit global health think tank, founded circa 2020, that convenes emerging public health professionals across six regional hubs to produce policy research, advocacy, and capacity-building programs on health systems strengthening.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Headquarters

HQ city

Baltimore

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

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

Distribution channels1 record

Marketing channels7 records

Core offering

The IWG is a global community network that convenes, co-imagines, and catalyzes efforts by emerging public health professionals to strengthen local and global health systems. It delivers its mission through three pillars: knowledge generation and sharing (think tank sessions, publications, research), advocacy (centering youth voices in global health dialogues), and capacity strengthening (training, workshops, mentorship). Core offerings are organized around six Regional Hubs, Thematic Working Groups, the Global Steering Group, the Youth Global Health Report, bi-monthly newsletters, and the Publications Archive — all delivered digitally free of charge.

Product overview

The International Working Group for Health Systems Strengthening (IWG) operates as a global community network rather than a technology product company. The organization offers a unified community platform consisting of: the IWG Global Community Network for emerging public health professionals, Thematic Working Groups (Global Book and Film Club, Global Lecture Series, Global Vaccine Equity, Health System Futurity, Global Health Mosaic), Regional Hubs across six geographic regions, Think Tank Sessions for structured policy discussions, IWG Newsletters (bi-monthly publications), the Youth Global Health Report, an Publications Archive, and a Global Steering Group for governance. These components work together to convene, educate, and mobilize emerging health professionals toward equitable and sustainable health systems strengthening worldwide.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• IWG Global Steering Group: A collective comprising active members from IWG's various regional bodies, serving as a think tank to propel the organization's mission of uniting the next generation of changemakers.
• Youth Global Health Report
• The Unprecedented Times

Products and services

• IWG Global Community Network A global community of emerging public health professionals that convenes, co-imagines, and catalyzes efforts to strengthen individual and collective knowledge, perspectives, skills, and capacities to influence local and global health systems strengthening. Provides space for continuous learning and collective action.
• Thematic Working Groups Active thematic groups including Global Book and Film Club, Global Lecture Series, Global Vaccine Equity, Health System Futurity, and Global Health Mosaic that focus on specific areas of health systems strengthening.
• Think Tank Sessions Structured discussion sessions on health systems topics including Social and Structural Determinants of Health, inhaled medicines and respiratory equity, and other critical public health issues.
• IWG-EBC Think Tank on Inhaled Medicines and Respiratory Equity Convened Think Tank session with Every Breath Counts Coalition on inhaled medicines and respiratory equity, mobilizing emerging health leaders on respiratory equity issues ahead of the UN High-Level Meeting on NCDs.
• Youth Global Health Report An annual report developed by and featuring emerging voices in global health, showcasing youth perspectives on health systems strengthening.
• IWG Newsletters A bi-monthly newsletter serving as an essential source of information and inspiration for the global community, highlighting the work of IWG members around the world and advancing knowledge exchange and collaboration.
• IWG Publications Archive An archive of blog posts, position papers, and thought leadership content on health systems, including vaccine equity, mental health, LGBTQ+ empowerment, and healthcare worker protection.
• The Unprecedented Times (Blog Series) Blog series documenting member experiences during the COVID-19 pandemic, with contributions from members across Africa, Europe, Southeast Asia, and Western Pacific regions.
• Regional Hubs Geographic organizational structure covering Africa, Americas, Eastern Mediterranean, European, Southeast Asia, and Western Pacific regions to facilitate regionally-focused health systems strengthening activities.
• Cape Town Together Documentary Collaboration Documentary collaboration with Community Action Networks in South Africa that informed IWG's Global Film and Film Club programming.
• EQUINET-IWG Equity Partnership Programme MoU-based collaboration with EQUINET (Regional Network on Equity in Health in East and Southern Africa) promoting health equity initiatives involving professionals, civil society members, policymakers, and state officials.
• Africa CDC Bingwa+ Y-Health Programme Initiative Youth-led health initiative selected for Africa CDC Bingwa+ Y-Health Programme seed funding, providing young people with resources to lead health interventions and a structured six-week capacity-building course with mentorship and direct financial investment.
• IWG Global Steering Group A collective comprising active members from regional bodies that serves as a think tank, propelling the mission of uniting changemakers to co-create equitable and sustainable solutions for health systems.

Segments1 record

Ideal customer profiles2 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Partnerships

Six partnerships are on record, tiered core and flagship.

• Every Breath Counts (EBC) CoalitioncoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 5 May 2025The IWG collaborated with the Every Breath Counts Coalition to convene a Think Tank session engaging with the FIRS global campaign on making inhaled medicines affordable and accessible for all. The session mobilized emerging health leaders on respiratory equity issues ahead of the UN High-Level Meeting on NCDs.
• Africa CDCflagshipGTM or Marketing Partner · 1 May 2025IWG was selected as one of the top 15 initiatives out of nearly 2,000 applicants to receive seed funding from the Africa CDC Bingwa+ Y-Health Programme, a bold intervention that provides young people with resources to lead health initiatives.
• YouthHub AfricacoreGTM or Marketing Partner · 1 May 2025YouthHub Africa co-organized the Bingwa+ Y-Health Programme alongside Africa CDC and GIZ, creating a structured six-week capacity-building course with dedicated mentorship and direct financial investment into youth-led initiatives.
• GIZ African UnioncoreGTM or Marketing Partner · 1 May 2025GIZ partnered with Africa CDC and YouthHub Africa on the Bingwa+ Y-Health Programme, which invests in youth-led health solutions and provides young innovators a platform to pitch for actual funding.
• Forum of International Respiratory Societies (FIRS)flagshipGTM or Marketing Partner · 1 January 2025IWG partnered with FIRS through the Every Breath Counts Coalition to support the launch of a global campaign on inhaled medicines affordability and accessibility, ahead of the UN High-Level Meeting on Non-Communicable Diseases.
• EQUINET (Regional Network on Equity in Health in East and Southern Africa)coreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2020The IWG established a Memorandum of Understanding with EQUINET to collaborate on health equity initiatives in East and Southern Africa. This partnership focuses on promoting and realizing shared values around equity in health, involving professionals, civil society members, policymakers, and state officials.

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Direct peers

• EQUINET (Regional Network on Equity in Health in East and Southern Africa): EQUINET is a network of professionals, civil society, and policymakers promoting equity in health in East and Southern Africa. It is directly comparable as a formal IWG partner with overlapping regional scope, member-driven structure, and focus on health equity policy advocacy.
• Women in Global Health: Women in Global Health is a movement advocating for gender equality in global health leadership. It is directly comparable as an advocacy and capacity-strengthening organization focused on previously excluded voices in health governance, mirroring IWG's mission around emerging and underrepresented voices.
• Global Health Corps: Global Health Corps places and develops early-career leaders in global health organizations. It is directly comparable to IWG as a youth-focused talent and leadership pipeline in global health systems, with overlapping target audience of emerging public health professionals.
• Global Health 5050: Global Health 5050 advances gender-responsive health policy through data and advocacy. It is directly comparable as a think-tank-style advocacy organization focused on equity dimensions of global health systems, with similar publications and policy engagement model.
• Young Professionals Chronic Disease Network: YP-CDN is a youth-led global network of young professionals working on NCD policy and health systems. It is directly comparable to IWG as a youth-founded and youth-led advocacy network in global health, with similar member-driven structure and policy focus.

Broad incumbents

• World Health Organization: WHO is the primary UN specialized agency for global health. It is comparable as the broader incumbent in the global health policy space where IWG seeks to influence agendas, particularly through channels such as the UN High-Level Meeting on NCDs where IWG engaged via FIRS.
• Africa CDC: Africa CDC is the continental public health agency for the African Union. It is comparable as a partner and broader institutional actor in African health systems strengthening, the same space where IWG operates its African Regional Hub and recently received Bingwa+ seed funding.

Emerging players

• Last Mile Health: Last Mile Health works to strengthen community health systems in low-resource settings, particularly in Africa. It is comparable as an organization operating at the intersection of health systems strengthening and frontline workforce development that IWG's thematic working groups on Health System Futurity engage with conceptually.

Others

• Consortium of Universities for Global Health: CUGH is an academic consortium advancing global health education, research, and service. It is comparable as a peer convening organization in the global health thought-leadership space, hosting symposia and capacity-building activities that overlap with IWG's knowledge-sharing mission.

Regional players

• Every Breath Counts Coalition: Every Breath Counts is a global coalition addressing pneumonia and respiratory health. It is comparable as a recent direct IWG collaborator on the inhaled medicines and respiratory equity Think Tank, operating in an adjacent global health advocacy niche.

Market position

Strengths4 records

Weaknesses4 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks5 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• Xtwitter.com/iwgforhss
• Facebookfacebook.com/iwgforhss
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/iwgforhss
• Instagraminstagram.com/iwgforhss/?hl=en

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles10 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about International Working Group for Health Systems Strengthening