Capacity Building

This program is a 9-month-long FAH initiative aimed at equipping Ministry of Health personnel with essential skills in health systems strengthening, leadership, governance, and health financing.

The program structure

Nov - Jan

Fellowship Beginnings

Applications, selection, contracting, onboarding and forming the cohort. Once selected, fellows are expected to complete FAH's online course series before the bootcamp

Feb - Mar

Bootcamp

An intensive 2-weeks in person session. Includes deep-dive sessions on health financing, primary health care, leadership and public speaking. Fellows also participate in an immersion visit to the facilities and communities of one of FAH partner governments.

Mar-May

Project selection

Fellows engage in 1-to-1 Coaching with FAH experts to understand their country health systems needs and patterns. The result of this process is the selection and approval of each fellows intended project.

May-Aug

Fieldwork and action delivery

With the support of their FAH mentors, fellows lead the development of their chosen policy reform and country strategies.

Aug-Sept

Cross country learning

Fellows participate in country visits, webinars and regional conferences to learn more about primary health care systems across the continent.

October

Graduation

In an intensive 2-week program, fellows present the results of their projects, leadership coaching and graduate from the program.

100%

Of the fellows resonated with the program with 75% of them rating it as excellent and 25% as good.

What makes FAH's Fellowship Program unique?

Bilingual program

We ensure that our program is delivered in both French and English, facilitating cross-country learning even for participants who do not speak the same language.

Practical education

Each fellow leads a reform initiative, gaining hands-on experience and practical skills essential for driving impactful health system changes.

1:1 mentorship

Fellows receive personalized one-on-one mentorship from top Health Financing and Policy Experts in Africa, providing invaluable guidance and insights.

"Over the last few months, working very closely with FAH mentors to champion a policy reform in the ministry of health has provided a platform to build my capacity in leadership, planning and research. I am grateful to FAH for this amazing opportunity to learn and shape health policy in Sierra Leone”

"Working with FAH through the Fellowship program has been an incredibly rewarding experience. Their guidance and support have strengthened our monitoring and evaluation practices, leading to more accurate assessments and better-informed decision-making. The program has been instrumental in building my expertise in developing policy briefs that utilise data for policy advocacy and resource mobilization”

The highlight of the bootcamp was undoubtedly the Makueni County immersion visit. This visit provided a personal and tangible understanding of how these promoters are bridging the gap between households and the broader primary health system. Through this immersive experience, the fellows gained valuable insights into the practical implementation of community health initiatives, including strategies to enhance accessibility, equity, and efficiency in delivering care.”

Our Cohorts

Beron Nsonga

Senior Monitoring and

Evaluation Officer,

Ministry of Health

Zambia

A data-driven approach to reduce maternal mortalities in Zambia- Retrospective Cross-sectional Analysis of the provincial disparities in maternal mortality between 2018 to 2023.

Dr. Kalangwa Kalangwa

Assistant Director

Health Promotion and

Community Health

Zambia

Enhancing National Health Insurance Scheme integration and utilization among Community Based Volunteers in Zambia.

Amy Mbacke

Head of SE Unit of Community

Health Reforms and Initiatives,

Ministry of Health and Social Action

Senegal

Evaluation Of Community Health Financing in Senegal using The Community Health Financing Assessment (CHFA) Tool.

Dr. Papa Birane Mbodji

Head of the Child Survival

Division, Ministry of Health

and Social Action

Senegal

Enhancing community– based follow-up of the mother-child pair during the first 1,000 days of life.

Mohamed Sheku Marah

Senior Monitoring and Evaluation

Officer, Directorate of Primary

Health Care, Ministry of Health

Sierra Leone

Review and update of the 2011 Facility Management Committee Standard Operating Procedures (SOPs)

Nathaniel Soloku

Health Economic

Analyst,

Ministry of Health

Sierra Leone

Development of Operational Guidelines for the implementation of Sierra Leone Social Health Insurance (SLeSHI)

Timothée Takoulou

Head of Sectoral Planning

and Monitoring-Evaluation,

Ministry of Health

Central African Republic

Resource Mobilization for Resilience and Sustainability of Family Planning Services in the Central African Republic

Gloire Mongue Kossepe

Head of the External Aid Coordination Service and Partnership Focal Point at the Ministry of Health

Central African Republic

Analysis of the Mechanisms and Strategies for Financing Community Health Programs in the Central African Republic.

Coming soon

Online Course Series

Delivered in partnership with Last Mile Health’s Community Health Academy, this course draws on cases and lessons learned from practitioners worldwide. We present an in-depth look at the financing pathways crucial to building well-designed, adequately resourced, and sustainable health systems.

The courses in the series

Costing

Understand importance of costing to help policymakers, managers, planners, and providers make rational, evidence-based decisions about the financing and delivery of health care.

Making the case

Explore how and why a convincing case for investing in community health systems is critical to mobilizing more resources in the space.

Sources of Funding

Identify new sources of funding that are crucial when financing community health systems.

Political Prioritization

Learn political prioritization of community health — at the country and global levels — as a prerequisite to building, financing, supporting, launching sustainable community health systems.

Public Financial Management

Learn public financial management (PFM), its role in community health, and effective practices for successful PFM.

Resource Mapping and Gap Analysis

Conduct a multi-year resource map to analyze the resources available for a community health system & gap analysis to indicate the funding required for the implementation of a Community Health System.

Investment Planning & Creating Systems for Sustainable Financing

Compile learnings from other courses and create an investment plan: a guide that helps the government align funding actors, set vision & target for the mix of financing, and provide a platform for accountability to funding commitments.