What is Africa Frontline First?
Africa Frontline First (AFF) is a collaborative initiative that supports the financing and strengthening of integrated community health service delivery to achieve health for all.Through unique partnerships between governments, donors, implementers, and technical allies, AFF will professionalize 200,000 community health workers across 10 African countries by 2030.
Why is Africa Frontline First focusing on community health?
Evidence shows that community health programs save lives, especially when they are part of an integrated health system. Community health workers extend life-saving care to the unreached and to the most vulnerable populations, equipped with the tools to tackle the leading causes of death and prevent future pandemics. Most recently, the Independent Panel for Pandemic Preparedness and Response found that community health was a hallmark of many successful COVID-19 responses and declared it critical for preventing future pandemics.
What is the origin of Africa Frontline First?
Early in the COVID-19 pandemic, the Financing Alliance for Health, the Community Health Impact Coalition, Last Mile Health and the Community Health Acceleration Partnership 1 were convened by the office of H.E Ellen Johnson Sirleaf. The goal: find new solutions that support countries to scale and strengthen community health systems, equipping them to effectively respond to this pandemic and prevent the next one.
How is Africa Frontline First structured?
AFF will work in partnership with governments to train and deploy 200,000 community health workers across 10 African countries by 2030. Given the magnitude of the initiative and the vision for long-term sustainability, a three-phase approach will be employed. This will help ensure a successful launch and execution to support national community health programs.
- Phase 1: The Catalytic Fund (AFF-CF) will mobilize $60-100 million in community health investments by 2024 to optimize the performance of health systems in priority countries to enable the scaling of the community health workforce. The AFF Catalytic Fund is hosted by the Global Fund, which will provide a 1:1 match on investments. 1 CHAP recently changed its strategic focus and has stepped back from its role within the initiative.
- Phase 2: Implementation and Execution will fund the training and deployment of 200,000 professionalized community health workers across 10 countries.
- Phase 3: Sustainability of Programs will focus on increasing domestic resources and commitments to sustain community health delivery and financing gains.
How will Africa Frontline First identify the ten participating countries?
AFF has developed rigorous criteria for country selection based on a set of quantitative and qualitative metrics including in-country political feasibility, political prioritization of community health investments, and growth opportunities. The country selection will be jointly made by AFF, the Global Fund, and key partners.
Is there an initial investment in Africa Frontline First? How is it being allocated?
The AFF Catalytic Fund is proud to announce a $25 million commitment from the private sector with a 1 to 1 match by the Global Fund as of August 8, 2022. The resources will support the preparations of an initial group of countries to grow their community health workforces, unblocking key system barriers currently limiting the scale, performance, and sustainability of community health workers and community-based health services.
How does Africa Frontline First partner with governments to strengthen community health?
Supporting government-led community health agendas is core to the work of AFF, which is working with regional government officials to develop pathways for country engagement. This includes identifying opportunities to increase the domestic allocation of resources toward community health, alongside investments from AFF and donor institutions.
How can I collaborate with Africa Frontline First?
AFF welcomes partners interested in supporting the goal to deploy and train 200,000 community health workers in Africa by 2030. Your organization has the opportunity to:
You can make your application to join the AFF Secretariat here or sign up to be an AFF Partner here.
How can my organization financially support Africa Frontline First?
For those interested in financially supporting the work of AFF, you can email info@africafrontlinefirst.com with the subject: “Inquiry about Financial Support to AFF”. The initiative team will review and reply to each request on a case-by-case basis.
Who should I contact for more information?
For more information, you can contact info@africafrontlinefirst.com
Relevant resources
- Africa Frontline First website
- Africa Frontline First fact sheet
- African Union's 2 million CHW commitment
- Africa Frontline First launch press release
- AFF-Catalytic Fund launch press release
- Join Africa Frontline First - AFF partner EO
About Africa Frontline First
Africa Frontline First is a collaborative initiative led by Financing Alliance for Health, Last Mile Health, and Community Health Impact Coalition to fund, scale, and strengthen community health programs across Africa. Under the championship of Her Excellency Ellen Johnson Sirleaf, Africa Frontline First aims to reach 100 million people with essential health services by 2030.
Learn more at https://www.africafrontlinefirst.org and on Twitter @Frontline1st
For media inquiries, please contact: Francisco Rodriguez at frodriguezgarza@lastmilehealth.org