African Forum for Research and Education in Health (AFREhealth)

What African Forum for Research and Education in Health (AFREhealth) does

AFREhealth is a non-profit, pan-African interprofessional health education and research forum headquartered at the Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology (KNUST) in Kumasi, Ghana. Founded on 2 August 2016 as a spin-off from MEPI/NEPI, it convenes leadership from more than 60 medical and nursing schools across all four African linguistic regions—Anglophone, Francophone, Lusophone, and Arabophone—to improve health-professions education, research capacity, and clinical practice on the continent.

The organization's product portfolio is built around a Moodle-based learning management system and includes the Interprofessional Education (IPE) Virtual Student Elective Program, a Pedagogy Course for educators, the Joint Health Leadership Development Program (JHLDP), the STRIPE HIV curriculum, the PROVE program (delivered with Africa CDC, the Mastercard Foundation, and IDI across 13-15 African Union member states), the ADAPT Project (with Leipzig University and the German Federal Ministry of Education across seven sub-Saharan African nations through 2028), Project ECHO knowledge-sharing hubs, and an "Introduction to Artificial Intelligence for Healthcare" module launched in August 2026.

AFREhealth's business model combines tiered membership dues (free for students, $50 for individuals, $500 for institutions, plus international tiers up to $2,000 for institutions) with restricted grants from a concentrated set of institutional donors—PEPFAR-NIH, HRSA, NIH, Africa CDC, the Mastercard Foundation, and the German Federal Ministry of Education—and recurring convening events (annual symposiums) that reinforce institutional engagement.

Name

African Forum for Research and Education in Health (AFREhealth)

Legal name

African Forum for Research and Education in Health (AFREhealth)

Website

https://afrehealth.org

Company type

Private

Founded year

2016

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Short description

AFREhealth is a pan-African non-profit headquartered in Kumasi, Ghana, that convenes leadership from 60+ medical and nursing schools across all four African linguistic regions to advance interprofessional health education, research, and clinical workforce capacity.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Health Professions Education and Research

NAICS

Educational Support Services (611710), All Other Schools and Instruction (61169)

SIC

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

akta.pro industry

PRIMARYHLAJAKAN

Global Health Research, Evidence & Technical Assistance Organizations

Healthcare & Life Sciences/Public Health, Government & Regulators/Global Health & Development Agencies (NGOs/Multilaterals)

SECONDARYEDALAFAF

Health Promotion, Prevention & Wellness Education

Education/Student Services & Campus Operations/Student Health, Counseling & Wellness Services

SECONDARYEDAAAHAK

Mental Wellness & Resilience Education (Non-clinical)

Education/Adult & Continuing Education/Health, Wellness & Lifestyle Education (Nutrition, Fitness, Mindfulness)

Keywords

• Health professions education
• Interprofessional education
• Medical education research
• Capacity building training
• Global health networks

Headquarters

HQ city

Kumasi, Ghana / West Africa

HQ country

Ghana

HQ region

Africa

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

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

Revenue model

1. Membership Dues: Annual membership fees from individual, institutional, student, and international members. Membership follows calendar year, due January 1st with invoices sent in November and final notices in January. Non-payment results in forfeit of benefits by March 31.
2. Grant Funding: Funding from PEPFAR-NIH, HRSA, NIH, Africa CDC, Mastercard Foundation, German Ministry of Education and Research through Leipzig University, and other institutional donors for specific programs including STRIPE HIV, PROVE, ADAPT Project, and leadership development programs.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels5 records

Marketing channels6 records

Core offering

AFREhealth is a pan-African interprofessional health network that delivers health professions education, training, and research capacity-building programs to member institutions, faculty, and students across Africa. It operates a Moodle-based Learning Management System, runs multi-country research programs (STRIPE HIV, PROVE, ADAPT), hosts annual symposia and regional conferences, and convenes Technical Working Groups and student exchange initiatives to strengthen the African health workforce.

Product overview

AFREhealth operates as a pan-African interprofessional health network offering a platform of interconnected educational programs and digital infrastructure. The core product portfolio includes a Moodle-based Learning Management System (learn.afrehealth.org) that serves as the foundation for multiple training programs including the Pedagogy Course for Health Professions Education and the JHLDP Nursing Leadership program. The organization delivers capacity-building initiatives such as the STRIPE HIV Project (with UCSF), PROVE vaccine research program, Project ECHO virtual communities of practice, ADAPT antimicrobial stewardship project, and the IPE Virtual Student Elective Program (via GEMx partnership). Supporting infrastructure includes Events Management System, Membership Management System, and Knowledge Management platforms. The offering follows a platform-plus-modules architecture where the LMS serves as the central hub for digital education delivery across multiple specialized health professions education programs.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• AFREhealth Learning Management System (LMS)

Quantifiable outcome

• Over 4,400 participants trained across 50 institutions in 14 countries through STRIPE HIV program
• +3 more outcomes

Named customers7 records

Segments5 records

Ideal customer profiles4 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Integration3 records

AI capability3 records

Feature3 records

Partnerships

15 partnerships are on record, tiered core and minor.

• Primary Care and Family Medicine Network for Sub-Saharan Africa (PRIMAFAMED)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerRegional network partner focusing on primary health care and family medicine across Sub-Saharan Africa, aligned with AFREhealth's interprofessional education goals.
• African Forum for Primary Health Care (AfroPHC)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerPan-African platform for primary health care coordination and advocacy, working with AFREhealth on strengthening primary health care through health professions education.
• Africa Interprofessional Network (AfrIPEN)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerNetwork promoting interprofessional education and collaborative practice across Africa, aligned with AFREhealth's IPE initiatives and student exchange programs.
• Infectious Disease Institute (IDI), Makerere UniversitycoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerIDI partners with AFREhealth on the PROVE vaccine effectiveness program and other implementation science initiatives, providing technical expertise in infectious disease research.
• International Center for AIDS Care and Treatment Programs (ICAP) at Columbia UniversitycoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerICAP has partnered with AFREhealth on strengthening pre and in-service education at nursing and midwifery schools across Africa, with regional nursing advisors supporting AFREhealth member institutions.
• Consortium of Universities for Global Health (CUGH)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerCUGH partners with AFREhealth on satellite sessions and collaborative initiatives, providing a network of universities focused on global health education and research.
• Johns Hopkins Program for International Education in Gynecology and Obstetrics (Jhpiego)minorStrategic or Co-development PartnerJhpiego collaborates with AFREhealth on health professions education initiatives, bringing expertise in reproductive, maternal, newborn and child health training.
• University of California San Francisco (UCSF)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerUCSF partners with AFREhealth on STRIPE HIV project delivering pandemic preparedness and AI in healthcare modules, providing technical leadership for virtual learning platforms.
• ECFMG/FAIMER (Educational Commission for Foreign Medical Graduates / Foundation for Advancement of International Medical Education and Research)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerECFMG/FAIMER partners with AFREhealth through GEMx program for virtual IPE student elective exchanges, providing web-based platform and expertise for cross-institutional learning.
• Sigma Theta Tau International Honor Society of NursingminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerInternational nursing honor society supporting nursing excellence and leadership development in partnership with AFREhealth's nursing leadership initiatives.
• Africa Centres for Disease Control and Prevention (Africa CDC)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerAfrica CDC leads the Saving Lives and Livelihoods program with AFREhealth as implementing partner for PROVE vaccine effectiveness research across 13 AU member states, providing strategic direction and data management platform.
• Leipzig UniversitycoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerLeipzig University leads the ADAPT Project consortium with AFREhealth as key partner, funded by German Ministry of Education and Research for antimicrobial stewardship and NTD management using One Health approach.
• Stellenbosch UniversitycoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerStellenbosch University operates an ECHO higher education virtual community of practice hub in partnership with AFREhealth, focusing on institutional pandemic response and wellbeing strategies.
• University of KwaZulu-Natal (UKZN)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerUKZN operates an ECHO hub alongside Stellenbosch University in collaboration with AFREhealth, addressing pandemic preparedness and health professions education needs.
• ScholarRxcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerScholarRx partners with AFREhealth on Open Education Microgrants and Curriculum Development Award Program, co-developing open-access Rx Bricks aligned with African health professions education needs.

Scale indicators5 records

Recent moves7 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Regional players

• PRIMAFAMED (Primary Care and Family Medicine Network for Sub-Saharan Africa): PRIMAFAMED is a regional network focused on primary health care and family medicine training across Sub-Saharan Africa. It is a thematic regional peer of AFREhealth with shared goals of strengthening primary care-related health professions education.
• ACHEST (African Centre for Global Health and Social Transformation): ACHEST is an African health policy and workforce organization where AFREhealth's Immediate Past President serves as Deputy Executive Director. Both organizations focus on health workforce development in Africa, with overlapping leadership and member institutions.
• World Organization of Family Doctors (WONCA) Africa: WONCA Africa is a regional network of family medicine practitioners and educators with comparable continental reach and a focus on primary care workforce development, making it an adjacent thematic peer to AFREhealth in health professions education.

Emerging players

• Council on Health Research for Development (COHRED): COHRED supports health research capacity building in low- and middle-income countries. While more focused on research governance than health professions education, it shares AFREhealth's mandate of strengthening health research systems across the Global South.

Direct peers

• Africa Interprofessional Network (AfrIPEN): AfrIPEN promotes interprofessional education and collaborative practice across Africa and is a core partner of AFREhealth's IPE initiatives and student exchange programs. It is a direct peer in interprofessional health education with overlapping membership and programming.
• ECFMG/FAIMER: ECFMG/FAIMER partners with AFREhealth on the GEMx virtual student exchange platform and has collaborated on IPE programming. Both organizations focus on international medical education and workforce development, making FAIMER a direct operational peer in cross-border health professions education.
• Consortium of Universities for Global Health (CUGH): CUGH is a global network of universities focused on global health education and research, partnering with AFREhealth on satellite sessions and capacity-building. It mirrors AFREhealth's interprofessional university-convening model at a global rather than pan-African level, making it a direct functional peer.
• Network Towards Unity for Health (TUFH): TUFH is a global network focused on health professions education and interprofessional collaboration, with AFREhealth's Immediate Past President serving as Secretary-General. Both organizations operate as convening bodies for health workforce education with comparable multi-stakeholder membership models.
• African Forum for Primary Health Care (AfroPHC): AfroPHC is a pan-African platform focused on primary health care coordination and advocacy, working alongside AFREhealth on health professions education. It operates in the same geographic footprint and shares overlapping funder and institutional relationships, making it a direct regional peer.

Broad incumbents

• Africa CDC: Africa CDC is the continental public health agency leading the Saving Lives and Livelihoods program of which PROVE is a component. It is a larger, government-affiliated incumbent operating broadly across all public health functions rather than specializing in health professions education.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• Xtwitter.com/intent/tweet?text=About+us%3A+https%3A%2F%2Fafrehealth.org%2Fabout%2Fabout-afrehealth
• YouTubeyoutube.com/channel/UCNjiBvFKH6HWCCsD4X4P5mQ
• Facebookfacebook.com/sharer/sharer.php?u=https%3A%2F%2Fafrehealth.org%2Fabout%2Fabout-afrehealth
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/afrehealth

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles15 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 African Forum for Research and Education in Health (AFREhealth)