Our work in Africa
Since 2006, Vital Strategies’ work in Africa has grown to include partnerships to create more responsive and resilient public health systems across 32 countries, co-designing and developing scalable and sustainable solutions that are improving health and well-being for millions of people. We currently partner in 24 countries on the continent.
Partnerships across local, national and regional governments
Policies advanced in 2025, driven by data and local evidence
Campaigns in 2025 advancing policies on noncommunicable disease and injury, a rising regional threat
Building Public Health Intelligence
Better data leads to better decisions. We support governments to count every life, identify causes of death, and use evidence to shape policies that improve health.
Guinea
The national cancer registry is being reestablished, restoring a reliable picture of the country’s cancer burden—compiling 12,000 cancer cases in just three months with support from Vital’s Global Grants Program.
Learn more about the Global Grants ProgramKenya
The national health benefits package now includes HPV testing, expanding access to lifesaving cervical cancer screening—the result of policy analysis produced through a Data to Policy partnership with the Ministry of Health.
Learn more about Data ImpactKatsina State, Nigeria
A federal program is helping address the state’s mortality burden—informed by findings from training 600+ stakeholders in verbal autopsy to identify maternal and child deaths occurring outside facilities.
Learn more about CRVSWhen CRVS Becomes Digital Public Infrastructure
Since 2016, Vital Strategies has partnered with the government of Rwanda to modernize the country’s civil registration and vital statistics (CRVS) system—transforming how births and deaths are recorded and connected, and how the data is used.
What changed:
7x increase in civil registration service points, from 446 in 2015 to 3,220 by 2020—all digitized
Seamless integration with hospitals, government agencies and businesses
200+ essential services, from health to social protection, built onto the digitized CRVS system and now widely accessible
Partnering for Policy Solutions
Proven policies save lives. We work with governments to reduce consumption of harmful products, generate revenue and improve health at scale.
Senegal
One of Africa’s strongest tobacco control laws was adopted after being stalled for years—following evidence-based media campaigns that helped catalyze government action.
Learn more about the Global Grants ProgramBurkina Faso
Ouagadougou now has a citywide framework to prevent noncommunicable diseases—reducing salt and sugar in school meals and promoting sustainable behavior change through work with the Partnership for Healthy Cities.
Learn more about Data ImpactKenya
Kenya adopted a groundbreaking national alcohol policy after years of industry delays—driven by legal, technical and advocacy support from RESET Alcohol initiative partners.
Learn more about CRVSEthiopia: Accelerating Clean Air Policy Reform
Through Vital Strategies’ Policy Accelerator, we work side by side with government technical teams to rapidly develop and advance policies with clear public health benefits.
In Ethiopia, an initiative launched in 2025 is accelerating clean air action by embedding public health priorities directly into policy design.
What’s happening now:
Clear priorities set by national and regional health leaders
Data for policy strengthened to guide decision-making
Health systems equipped to address household air pollution
Communicating for Health
The right message changes minds and policy. We support campaigns that shift behavior, counter misinformation and build support for health over industry.
South Africa
“The True Cost of Alcohol” campaign helped shift public understanding of alcohol harms in South Africa—reaching 2.8 million people online and on the radio in its early weeks with a call for higher taxes.
Learn more about the Alcohol Policy ProgramMalawi
“Tobacco Slave,” a first-of-its-kind film exposing tobacco industry exploitation in Malawi, is shaping public debate—reaching 10,000 views through firsthand farmer accounts that lay bare the human cost of the industry.
Learn more about our Tobacco Control programEthiopia
Ethiopia’s “Slow Down. Speeding Ruins Lives” campaign resonated strongly with drivers: 97% of surveyed viewers said they were motivated to follow the speed limit after seeing it.
Learn more about Road Safety programSouth Africa: Communication Enabled a Sugary Drink Tax
Public support paves the way for policy. Beginning in 2016, Vital Strategies partnered with civil society to build momentum for a tax on sugary beverages—starting with a bold agenda-setting campaign: “Are you drinking yourself sick?”
The results:
2018: South Africa became one of the first African countries to tax sugary drinks
29% decline in purchases of taxed beverages (2014–2019)
51% reduction in sugar intake from taxed drinks
5.8 billion ZAR (US$313 million) generated in the first two fiscal years
Greatest health gains among lower-income households
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