“In the right light at the right time, everything is extraordinary.” — Aaron Rose
The Center’s programs illuminate the 360, drawing from a broad and inclusive perspective rooted in the challenges that affect lives across the continent. APHRC programs provide evidence on a myriad of issues. This year, we shed light on our programmatic and policy wins on issues that are often hidden from view.
The conflict in the Horn of Africa and Congo has displaced millions, leaving families in crisis and livelihoods lost. Children are most impacted by this instability, with heightened vulnerabilities in humanitarian settings. Recognizing the need for action, APHRC spearheaded the Humanitarian Violence Against Children survey (HVACS) in Uganda and Ethiopia, the first of its kind to be conducted on the continent.
The outcome of this survey will inform policy actions and drive multisectoral responses to protect children and youth, Africa’s most valuable asset for future prosperity. Considering that African nations have limited resources to manage displaced populations, such evidence is essential in mobilizing concerted action from governments, civil society, and development partners to safeguard society’s most vulnerable within dire situations.
APHRC’s body of work in SRHR, especially on the incidence of abortion and severity of complications and the impact of unsafe abortions on communities, has continuously highlighted the devastating consequences of unstructured, unfunded, unappreciated, and unrecognized need for Abortion and Post-Abortion Care for women. The Center has continued to lead efforts to generate evidence on these issues and engage in policy discussions surrounding them. APHRC continues to utilize opportunities, such as regional, national, or local convenings with policy actors, including parliamentary health committees, ministries, and peer development institutions in the space, to position emerging
and existing SRHR evidence as a key ingredient for developing, implementing, and sustaining evidence-informed policy action.
To complement such efforts, APHRC, in collaboration with other like-minded institutions, established the African Coalition for Research and Communication on Abortion (ACORCA). Through the collegiality of generating evidence and discussing policies, the coalition aims to shape strategic interventions towards enhancing access to safe abortion services, promoting reproductive rights, and ending the detrimental impact of unsafe termination of pregnancy on Africa’s future generations.
The Center’s INSPIRE Network Datahub informed policy actions to improve the governance and integration of health data systems, influencing national-level policies on data utilization and health information exchange in Kenya, Uganda, and Burkina Faso. By leveraging advanced technologies in data management, Health and Demographic Surveillance Sites (HDSS) in the three African countries are closing long-standing gaps in data standardization, ensuring that health and demographic data are available and comparable across different regions or localities.
The INSPIRE Network Datahub’s impact extends beyond technology— it is rewriting the future of public health in Africa, where data becomes an opportunity that cannot be missed for policy-making, disease surveillance, and improved healthcare.
Following an APHRC assessment of the research readiness of over 500 African research institutes and universities in Kenya, Ethiopia, and Nigeria, the need for targeted capacity-strengthening interventions that align with global standards while amplifying local impact was identified. By the end of 2024, more than 500 research institutions and universities across the continent had completed the Research Readiness Assessment (RRA), a tool developed by APHRC to evaluate and enhance institutional capacity for generating, managing, and using research. The RRA provides a baseline for identifying strengths and areas for development in research governance, data systems, and ethical compliance, contributing to a more sustainable and credible research ecosystem in Africa.
Leveraging its body of work on consumer consumption patterns, APHRC collaborated with the Ministry of Health in Kenya to promote healthy food and dietary transparency. It is one of the most visible programs at the Center, which aims to reformulate food to improve its nutrient status, thereby enabling the consumption of healthier alternatives. The Center championed the implementation of mandatory Front-of-Pack Nutrition Labels (FOPLs) on all pre-packed foods, and so far, there have been progressive discussions within the policy space on how to actualise this across relevant sectors. The contributions made by diverse stakeholders towards this push have driven broader considerations on the need to safeguard healthy food consumption in the region. Clear and concise labels will empower consumers with key health and dietary information, enabling them to make informed decisions that can help stem the tide of non-communicable diseases (NCDs) such as diabetes, obesity, and hypertension.
Through collaborations with key players at national and subnational levels of various countries, APHRC continued to support data-driven decision-making and evidence-informed policy in Africa. The Catalyze Impact Initiative, working in partnership with Bayero University of Kano, the University of Lagos, and State Ministries of Health, established sample registration systems to collect community-level data on causes of maternal deaths and stillbirths in Kano and Lagos— Nigeria’s two most populous states, with the highest cases of maternal mortality. The project aimed to improve data quality and enable targeted maternal health interventions, with a focus on channeling resources where they were most needed.
The Catalyze Impact Initiative also supported policy prototyping in Nigeria – Lagos and Kano States, in addition to the sample registration system, including a framework linking Research to Policy for Sustained Impact. The continuous engagement of policymakers in the co-creation and co-design of interventions, which included the adoption of the Target Policy Profile and Multi-Criteria decision analysis models, formed the foundation of this collaboration between Bayero University of Kano and the University of Lagos, as well as the respective state ministries of health. This engagement ensured that relevant data was collected and translated into actionable insights.
In enhancing the adoption and use of evidence for education policy, the Center’s Data Ecosystems for Development in Education (DECODE) project, alongside education stakeholders on the continent, championed the need to use evidence in informing education policies and programmes. It encouraged the development of a system that uses evidence-informed, high-quality, research-led education policy and practice, resulting in improved learning outcomes across the continent. The work emphasized the importance of collaboration among key actors while also sparking deliberate discussions, especially among policymakers, on how evidence is a crucial factor in education transformation in Africa.
The Nairobi County Assembly in Kenya approved a Busing Motion, paving the way for the drafting of a Busing Bill to enhance access to education in the county. This was a significant step toward ensuring equity in education across Nairobi County. With the approval secured, a legislative proposal was moved to the drafting stage, and a presentation was to be made to the House Assembly for debate. This brings Nairobi closer to implementing strategies that enable children from poor urban neighborhoods to attend government schools. A team from the Human Development theme, supported by the revamped Policy Engagement and Communications team, provided evidence and a nudge for action. Working with key players in the education sector, they are now set to propel Nairobi County towards a future where every child can access high-quality education, regardless of their socio-economic background.
The Early Childhood Development (ECD) Unit, alongside the Collaboration Action for Childcare’s (CAC) Legal, Policy, and Regulatory Reforms Technical Working Group and the Nairobi City County Government, initiated the drafting of the Regulatory Impact Assessment (RIA) Report for the County’s Childcare Regulations. The RIA report, along with input from other key stakeholders, formed part of the documentation presented to the Nairobi County Executive Committee as part of the process to operationalize the new childcare regulations. APHRC has been instrumental in revising the County’s Childcare Facilities Act of 2017 and developing new regulations to enhance the safety and quality of childcare services.
APHRC, through the Challenging the Politics of Social Exclusion (CPSE) program, has been conducting extensive research and advocacy in Liberia and Sierra Leone on access to safe abortion services. This has included engagements with civil society and policymakers to champion the enactment of the Safe Motherhood and Reproductive Health Bill (Sierra Leone) and the Public Health Bill in Liberia. Tabled in June 2024, the Safe Motherhood and Reproductive Health Bill, if passed, aims to enhance reproductive health care service delivery. In Liberia, the Public Health Bill is currently before the Senate and aims to strengthen health services across the country, improving overall healthcare delivery and broadly safeguarding sexual reproductive health rights (SRHR) and curbing substance abuse.
In 2024, APHRC continued to place nutrition at the center of public health and development discourse. In partnership with key stakeholders, the Center contributed to the development of the Kenya National Nutrition Action Plan (NNAP) and led the review of the Laikipia County Nutrition Action Plan. These efforts formed part of a broader strategy to support the formulation of a comprehensive National Food and Nutrition Security Policy, anchored in evidence. The Center’s longstanding research on food systems, value chains, and community nutrition profiles played a pivotal role in identifying policy gaps and proposing actionable solutions for improved nutrition outcomes, particularly among vulnerable populations.
In a significant milestone for adolescent sexual and reproductive health advocacy, the Senate of Kenya formally requested a response from the Ministry of Health on the quality and accessibility of health services for pregnant adolescents. This request was directly informed by evidence generated by APHRC, demonstrating the impact of the Center’s research in elevating critical issues affecting young people to the national policy agenda.
APHRC played a key role in shaping Kenya’s sanitation policy landscape. In December 2024, Sessional Paper No. 7 on the Kenya National Sanitation Policy was submitted to the Clerk of the National Assembly, marking a historic step toward integrated and inclusive sanitation governance. The policy provides a rights-based and gendersensitive framework for sanitation management, aligning with Kenya’s commitments under national development plans and global targets, including the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).
The Center’s research under the Gender-Responsive Health Policy (GRHP) initiative made a substantive contribution to the design and implementation of health policies that address gender disparities across disease-specific areas. By generating disaggregated evidence and engaging directly with policymakers at the Ministry of Health, APHRC supported more equitable and responsive decision-making processes, reinforcing Kenya’s ambition to build a health system that leaves no one behind.
In 2024, APHRC experts exemplified excellence in service to the research community. Several APHRC staff members received prestigious awards and appointments, recognizing their outstanding contributions to science, policy, and advocacy. The appointments included staff being a part of the WHO Strategic and Technical Advisory Group for Maternal, Newborn, Child and Adolescent Health and Nutrition (STAGE) and the WHO Technical Advisory Group on Behavioral Sciences for Better Health. These accolades highlight APHRC’s leadership in advancing evidence-based solutions for Africa’s most pressing challenges. From global advisory roles to national honors, our team continues to shape the research landscape.