The Centre on Global Health Security at Chatham House, the Global Health Centre at the Graduate Institute and the International Federation of Pharmaceutical Manufacturers and Associations (IFPMA) announced on Tuesday 23 January 2018 the establishment of the 2018-2019 African Global Health Leaders Fellowship.

Sub-Saharan African countries have undergone unprecedented transformation and change in the last decade, including constant economic growth, a growing middle class, a healthier, more productive and increasingly more educated and skilled workforce and increased political stability. Although many challenges remain, recognition must be given to the huge advances that have been made.

To mark the occasion, the three signing partners invited emerging leaders and fellows of the West African Global Health Leaders Fellowship - the predecessor of the new fellowship, to discuss the achievements and challenges across the continent, including the most promising approaches for improving healthcare systems and the realisation of Universal Health Coverage (UHC).

The fellowship supports the development of the next generation of public health leaders in Africa. The objective is to help fellows from Africa develop the knowledge, insight and skills to work within their own countries to formulate and implement evidence-based policy and to serve as the next generation of leaders. It builds skills in leadership, policy analysis and formulation, as well as global health diplomacy.

Here is what the key partners, the World Health Organization representative, and the two fellows who benefitted from the West African Fellowship had to say:

Thomas Cueni, IFPMA Director General
“We are very proud of this fellowship partnership with Chatham House and the Global Health Centre at the Graduate Institute, to whom we give our full support to operate freely in terms of program implementation and selection of the fellows. Our hope is that investing in Africa’s future health leaders will ultimately bring meaningful change, benefiting directly the population while making a stronger case for strengthening its healthcare system.”

Ilona Kickbusch, Director, Global Health Centre, the Graduate Institute
“The Global Health Centre will support fellows to explore and discover the interconnectedness of global health and the complexities of global health diplomacy in Geneva, linking the global with the national level and spanning across different sectors.”

David Heymann, Head of the Centre on Global Health Security at Chatham House
"We are very pleased that the fellows from our first cohort have been able to contribute to public health development in their own countries while being mentored through the fellowship programme. It is important that they continue to contribute in their own countries applying the skills they developed during their year as fellows, and that they have agreed to serve as mentors to future fellows in the programme."

Dr Matshidiso Moeti, Regional Director for Africa, World Health Organization
“It is my hope that today’s fellows will be tomorrow’s mentors, taking this fellowship programme to the scale needed to achieve continent-wide impact. We all know that Africa’s burgeoning youth population requires rethinking how we deliver healthcare to this population group, and how to expand the human resources capacity to deliver quality health services adequately to all who need them.”

Ritgak Tilley-Gyado, Consultant Health Specialist, World Bank; West Africa Global Health Leaders Fellow, Centre on Global Health Security, Nigeria
“Solving our region's biggest public health challenges can only be achieved by innovative African-led solutions, which combine global frameworks with local.”

Ama Pokuaa Fenny Research Fellow, Institute of Statistical, Social and Economics Research, University of Ghana; West Africa Global Health Leaders Fellow, Centre on Global Health Security, Ghana
“We need to pay attention to leadership in health, or else we miss our opportunity to produce efficient health systems that keep us all healthy.”

For more information, please visit the event page.