ADDIS ABABA and Geneva, 4 September 2026 – A new partnership between the Africa Centres for Disease Control and Prevention (Africa CDC) and the Geneva Learning Foundation (TGLF) aims to strengthen immunisation across Africa by connecting continental priorities with frontline health workers and bringing their experience and local solutions into decision-making.
The partnership will support implementation of the Continental Immunisation Strategy (CIS), launched in April 2026 at the World Health Summit Regional Meeting in Nairobi.
It comes as progress on routine immunisation has stalled across much of Africa. Nearly eight million children remain at risk from vaccine-preventable diseases, while gaps in access, coordination, governance, community engagement and financing continue to constrain progress.
The African Union’s immunisation commitments call for countries to achieve at least 90% national immunisation coverage and 80% coverage in every district. The CIS seeks to accelerate progress towards these goals, including reaching zero-dose and under-immunised children.
The partnership will draw on TGLF’s network of more than 50,000 health and humanitarian practitioners in African countries, more than 80% of whom work at district and community level and half of whom are employed by governments.
Its aim is to create a two-way channel between continental policy and frontline delivery: translating CIS priorities into local action while ensuring that evidence from health workers and communities informs continental decision-making, scorecards and regional roadmaps.
“This partnership with The Geneva Learning Foundation will augment Africa CDC’s ability to listen to Member States, and adapt our programmes and approaches to the needs of communities, especially those in fragile humanitarian and conflict areas,” said Dr Folake Olayinka, Director of Immunisation at Africa CDC.
Many of the barriers to vaccination are best understood by the health workers who encounter them every day, but their knowledge does not always reach those setting national and continental priorities.
“Often, what gets written down as refusal turns out to be something else: no health worker present that day, a long wait, a bad experience the year before. That knowledge is already in the district. This partnership provides a way for the system to hear it,” said Charlotte Mbuh, Director of Programmes, The Geneva Learning Foundation.
Under the partnership, technical working groups will be established through designated focal points to coordinate implementation, review progress and identify emerging priorities. The collaboration will focus on frontline evidence, community trust and the strengthening of existing national systems.
Health workers will document barriers and locally developed solutions, with this evidence feeding into Africa CDC’s immunisation governance, scorecards and regional roadmaps. In participating countries, they will also help identify rumours, concerns and trusted influencers, and work with community and religious leaders, women and young people to address barriers to vaccination.
The partnership will also promote peer and South-South learning, enabling health workers and Member States to share practical solutions for improving immunisation.
By working through existing health workers and national systems, the initiative will strengthen Member State capacity without creating parallel structures that depend on continued funding.
The collaboration supports Africa CDC’s broader Africa Health Security and Sovereignty Agenda and efforts to build resilient, locally led health systems across the continent.
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About Africa CDC
Africa CDC is the public health agency of the African Union. As an autonomous institution, Africa CDC supports AU Member States in strengthening health systems, improving disease surveillance, and enhancing emergency preparedness and response. For more information, visit: http://www.africacdc.org and follow Africa CDC on LinkedIn, X, Facebook, and YouTube.
About the Geneva Learning Foundation
TGLF is a Swiss non-profit created in 2016. It enables health and humanitarian workers, supervisors, and managers inside national health systems to lead action on shared health priorities, using their own resources and supported by their peers. Its network reaches more than 50,000 practitioners in African countries, more than 80% of whom work at the district and community levels, and half are employed by government. Its programmes cover immunisation, health security and outbreak preparedness, primary health care, infectious and noncommunicable diseases, mental health, maternal and newborn health, healthy ageing, and the use of artificial intelligence for health
Media enquiries
Directorate of Communications and Public Information, Africa CDC | Email: communications@africacdc.org Claude Cardot, Communications manager | Email: claude.cardot@learning.foundation, Cell: +41 77 231 96 91
