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)
- Engage and advocate with stakeholders on appropriate PHC human resources and strong PHC teamwork for UHC
- Strengthen socially accountable PHC for communities in Africa
- Support local and country level PHC teamwork across Africa
- Capacitate PHC stakeholders at policy, management, clinical and health level
- Build research and evidence for appropriate PHC human resources and strong PHC teamwork for UHC
- Share information and communicate effectively to strengthen PHC teamwork and UHC across Africa.
- 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
- Almoghirah Abdellah (Community Medicine Specialist, Sudan)
- Champion Nyoni (PhD Nurse, South Africa – AfrIPEN)
- Cynthia Chaibva (PhD Nurse-Midwife, Zimbabwe)
- Innocent Somboi (Clinical Officer, MBChB Student, Tanzania)
- Joseph Anna (Professor / Africa Centre for Clinical Governance Research & Patient Safety, Nigeria)
- Mercy Wanjala (Family Physician, Kenya)
- Umar Ibrahim, (CHW, Public Health PhD, Nigeria)
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
- Joel Anani, International Federation of Medical Students’ Associations (IFMSA)
- Madeleine Ballard, Community Health Impact Coalition
- Oludare Bodunrin, Strategic Purchasing Africa Resource Centre (SPARC)
- Ian Couper, African Rural Health expert
- Jan de Maeseneer, Global PHC/FM advocate
- Hannah Faal, Eye Care in PHC advocate
- Craig Fitzpatrick, World Continuing Education Alliance (WCEA)
- Deborah Gray, International Council of Nurses, Advanced Practice Nursing Committee
- Judy Khanyola, Nursing advocate
- Peninah Khisa, Peoples Health Movement
- George Kimathi, AMREF
- Jeff Markuns, PHC Performance Initiative (Allies)
- Viviana Martinez-Bianchi, Global family doctor advocate
- Yaw Mfaofo, International Pharmaceutical Students’ Federation (IPSF)
- Selva Mudaly, International Federation of Environmental Health (IFEH)
- Kapil Narain, Africa Health Education Students Summit (AHESS)
- Bidian Nyamor, Youth4UHC
- Nthabiseng Phaladze, AfreHealth
- Ahmed Gamal Sallam, African Novice Nurses and Students Initiative (ANNSI)
- Kawaldip Sehmi, International Alliance of Patients’ Organizations (IAPO)
- Mary Showstark, Physician Assistants for Global Health (PAGH)
- Sibusiso Simelane, Jhpiego
- Scott Smalley, International Association of PA Educators (IAPAE)
- Innocent Somboi, Global Association of Clinical Officers and PAs (GACOPA)
- Albert Taiti, African Network of Associate Clinicians (ANAC)
- Prosper Tumusiime, African ex-WHO AFRO HSS expert
- Pieter van den Hombergh, European Forum for Primary Care
- Firdouza Waggie, African Interprofessional Practice Education Network (AfrIPEN)
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)