Amref Health Africa, with support from the Gates Foundation, hosted a powerful virtual forum exploring how African countries can safeguard and accelerate progress against NTDs amid evolving health challenges.

The event brought together leading voices in global health—including Dr. Githinji Gitahi (Amref), Dr. Ebere Okereke (the Reaching the Last Mile Fund), Dr. Clarer Jones Mwansasu (Tanzania MOH), Dr. Solomon Zewdu (the END Fund), and Onome Dibosa-Osadolor (UNICEF)—to highlight country leadership, program integration, and innovations in co-financing as key drivers toward sustainable NTD elimination.

With insights from across the continent, the webinar underscored that while NTDs continue to impact millions, African-led strategies and partnerships are paving the way for a future free from these diseases. Learn more.

In a landmark achievement, Kenya has been officially validated by the World Health Organization (WHO) as having eliminated human African trypanosomiasis (HAT), commonly known as sleeping sickness, as a public health problem—making it the 10th country to do so. This accomplishment follows years of sustained efforts—including enhanced surveillance across sentinel sites, tsetse fly control, strengthened laboratory diagnostics, and community-centered interventions—that have kept new indigenous cases at bay for over a decade. Though the disease still exists in the environment, Kenya is now transitioning to a vigilant post-validation surveillance phase, ensuring rapid detection and response to any potential resurgence.

Meet Kadija (16) and Hajara (17), two determined girls changing lives in their Kano community. 
As community-directed distributors for the Reaching The Last Mile Fund, implemented through Sightsavers International, they walk for hours under the sun, distributing medicine, educating families, and reaching even the most remote homes.

“We don’t do it for the money,” Hajara says. “We do it because our people need us.”
Together, they’ve helped protect hundreds from diseases like river blindness and lymphatic filariasis. However, their dream extends beyond medicine distribution: They aspire to become medical doctors.
“One day,” Kadija says, “we want to be the ones our community calls when there is a health emergency.” 
They may be young, but their steps are bold. Their journey is just beginning, and it’s filled with hope, service, and a dream to heal even more.

Oluwadamilare Dauda, a final-year PhD scholar at Osun State University, received the Young Scientist Award from France’s National Veterinary School of Toulouse. This honor recognizes his cutting-edge research into blackfly transmission of onchocerciasis (river blindness). The award also enabled Dauda to deepen his expertise alongside global vector specialists during a summer program in Toulouse—highlighting the importance of international collaboration in infectious disease control. Learn more. 

The Immunization and Child Survival Forum in Maputo, Mozambique in July brought together leaders and partners committed to improving child health across Africa. While the continent continues to bear a disproportionate share of under-5 years child mortality, it is also where some of the most impactful and scalable solutions are taking shape.

NTDs remain a major contributor to poor child health—leading to disability, malnutrition, and missed educational opportunities. At the forum, a dedicated lunch hosted by RLMF highlighted the need to integrate NTD efforts into broader child survival strategies.

The event reaffirmed a strong, shared commitment to ensuring that every child, everywhere, has the opportunity not just to survive, but to thrive.