About AfroPHC

African Forum for Primary Health Care

Vision

African PHC service delivery under Universal Health Coverage (UHC) should be comprehensive, accessible, high quality, responsive to local needs, in partnership with communities and delivered by strong teamwork, training and supportive supervision.

Mission

To bring together the leadership of ALL health workers at the coalface in African primary care and to develop AfroPHC as the voice of the PC/PHC team, sharing resources and supporting each other in building the PHC team for UHC in Africa.

Strategic Objectives (2021-2025)

  1. Engage and advocate with stakeholders on appropriate PHC human resources and strong PHC teamwork for UHC
  2. Strengthen socially accountable PHC for communities in Africa
  3. Support local and country level PHC teamwork across Africa
  4. Capacitate PHC stakeholders at policy, management, clinical and health level
  5. Build research and evidence for appropriate PHC human resources and strong PHC teamwork for UHC
  6. Share information and communicate effectively to strengthen PHC teamwork and UHC across Africa.
  7. Build AfroPHC as organisation

Membership

The African Forum for Primary Care (AfroPHC) currently has a membership of 635 people from 64 countries (40 across the 54 countries in Africa). Most of the members (highest down) are from: Nigeria, South Africa, Kenya, Uganda, Zimbabwe, Ghana, DR Congo etc.

The membership comes from a variety of professions and backgrounds (highest down): nurse, doctor, public health, family physician, pharmacist, manager, advocates, specialist, student, activist, non health government sector representatives, community health worker, social worker, educationist, allied health, clinical officer, scientists, dental professionals, environmental health practitioners, researchers, lab technician, nutritionist, psychologist, lawyer, ambulance driver, optometrist, and traditional healer.

See the AfroPHC Statement for more

AfroPHC Executive Board

President: Innocent Besigye (Family Physician, Uganda – Primafamed)

Vice-President: Francoise Nwabufo (Public Health Nurse, Cameroon)

Executive Coordinator: Shabir Moosa (Professor/Family Physician, South Africa – WONCA Africa)

Elected Members

Co-opted Members

  • Marie-Claire Wangari (Medical Doctor Co-Founder AHESS / RESPEKT, Kenya. – AHESS)
  • Tolu Osigbesan (Pharmacist / Advocacy and Partnerships Officer, NCD Alliance, Nigeria/Switzerland)

A key part of the strategy is build alliances and networks. We have reached out to a number of organisations that are pan-African or global in nature and very important to our mission to support AfroPHC. See list of AfroPHC Supporting Organisations. We set up an Advisory Board (up to 30 members and mostly from AfroPHC Supporting Organisations) to meet at least six monthly to review our work and build strong collaborations.

AfroPHC Supporting Organisations

AfroPHC Advisory Board

See Articles of Association

List of original supporting organisations.

  • Prof. Shabir Moosa, President WONCA Africa (for family doctors)
  • Dr. David Lusale, African Network of Associate Clinicians (for clinical officers/associates)
  • Ms. Bongi Sibanda, AAAPN Coalition (for family nurse practitioners)
  • Dr Lillian Dodzo, (for midwives)
  • Dr. Thembeka Gwagwa, ICN (for nurses generally)
  • Dr. Prosper Tumusiime, WHO AFRO
  • Prof. Godwin Aja, Africa Regional Board Member, Towards Unity For Health (for public health practitioners)
  • Prof Marietjie de Villiers, President AFREHealth (for health educators / researchers in Africa)
  • Dr. Champion Nyoni, AfrIPEN (for allied health professions and interprofessional practice)
  • Dr. George Kimathi, AMREF (for CHWs/community stakeholders)
  • Ms. Nkechi Olalere, Coordinator SPARC (for strategic purchasing officials)
  • Dr. Francis Ohanyido, The West African Institute of Public Health and its Academy (for public health)
  • Prof Bob Mash, Primafamed (for family medicine educators)