Nairobi, 30 March 2022– The African Population and Health Research Center (APHRC) has been recognized as a high performer in the Global Health 50/50’s latest report, Boards for All? A review of power, policy and people on the boards of organizations active in global health. The 2022 report uses publicly available data to assess the gender and geographic diversity of 2,014 board members and chairs across 146 leading global health organizations.
In the Global Health 50/50 assessment of publicly-available gender-related policies, practices, and outcomes in leading organizations active in global health, APHRC was categorized as one of 37 “high performers,” placing the organization in the top 30% of the sample.
Speaking on the recognition of the institution, Dr. Catherine Kyobutungi, Executive Director, APHRC, said, “The Center’s score in 2022 shows that progress is possible, even in a short span of three years, and we are delighted that our efforts to promote gender equality in the organization continue to be globally recognized.”
Findings from the report show that people from high-income countries dominate board membership for the top 200 global health organizations, and only 25% of board seats in these organizations are held by nationals of all low- and middle-income countries (LMICs), despite these countries being home to 84% of the world’s population. Of the 2000 board seats reviewed, just 17 seats are held by women from low-income countries, equating to less than 1% of board members. This is compared to the 881 seats (44% of all seats) held by men from high-income countries.
However, the report highlighted that 44% of the APHRC’s board members are nationals of LMICs, and 36% of the Center’s board members are women. In assessing the scores of APHRC from 2020-2022, Global Health 50/50 found the Center to be a “consistently high scorer.”
As the continent’s premier research institution and think tank, APHRC has continuously showcased its commitment to gender equality as well as broader issues of diversity and inclusion in the workplace.