Healthy Learners
The health needs of school age children are still largely unmet across Africa. Children with common childhood illnesses—malaria, water borne disease, infections—get care late, or not at all.
The Idea
Teachers as Health Workers
Total Investment
2400000
Grants
0
Equity/SAFE
0
Debt/Convertible Debt
Funded Since
2017
Geography
Sector
Structure
The Mission
Keep school-aged kids healthy.
How It Works
Healthy Learners makes schools a point of care in the health system. They help government create school health centers and train volunteer teachers to staff them. Sick kids get treated or taken to local clinics, where they get priority care.
The Dream
Governments across Africa integrate school-based healthcare into national systems.
Why We're In
This is a proven, government-ready model for school-based primary healthcare that costs just $1.50 per student per year to maintain. Healthy Learners scaled across Zambia—now in 10 of 10 provinces and reaching more than 1.2M kids. Their strategy combines grassroots delivery with top-down policy advocacy. From the start, they supported the health and education ministries to deliver their integrated program, but it was always government-owned. A new rigorous study is evaluating the model at scale: from health impact to education outcomes. Early signs suggest it’s cheap and good enough for governments to run without external support. This is a smart bet on a massive need—new countries are on the horizon—and this team has what it takes to go big.
Delivery
As of FY2025 (through June), Healthy Learners had reached over 1.1 million kids at 738 schools across all of Zambia’s 10 provinces and is on track to reach more than 1.4 million kids in FY2026.
The Model
A solution that works and can scale.
Teachers as Health Workers
Recruit, train, and equip teachers as School Health Workers (SHWs)
Health Room
Dedicate a space at the school with basic health amenities for SHWs to see sick students
Tech for Diagnostics
SHWs use tablets with predictive software to guide consultations and track kids
Student Education & Buddies
Bite-sized lessons for self-screening + a buddy system to stay connected
Fast-Tracked Referrals
Serious cases get referred to nearby clinics where students are seen quickly
Potential for Impact at Scale
Mulago uses four criteria to gauge potential for exponential impact. The model must be:
This is about impact and evidence. A matched control study in 2019 showed that the Healthy Learners’ model has a proven consequential effect size: 38% reduction in disease morbidity and 52% reduction in odds of stunting (from 15% to 9.3%) over 12 months. And they’re in the midst of a large-scale RCT to further strengthen their impact case. It’s exploring impact on student health and education outcomes, with results expected in 2027.
This is about scope. Most low-income kids in Africa don’t have easy access to good quality healthcare but many have access to government primary schools so incorporating health into schools presents a huge opportunity to get ahead of acute health issues before they become big problems. For this to work at scale, government willingness to pay for and manage the program is critical. Proximity to health clinics is also key, so that kids with moderate to severe illnesses can get elevated care quickly enough.
This is about whether governments can deliver the model. The model components are simple and well-integrated into the existing Ministry of Health and Education structures. The model is already effectively managed by existing provincial, district and school-level government staff with targeted support by Healthy Learners. Expansion to new schools is still largely managed, and paid for, by Healthy Learners but they are working with the Zambian government to take on full ongoing management of the solution (planning, budgeting, coordination, and M&E) for national scale up.
This is about what the model costs if delivered by government and whether government is willing and able to pay. Ongoing program costs have fallen under $1.50/student and Healthy Learners sees opportunities to get it to $0.60/student. For the first time, school health is included in national budgets and though just a fraction of what’s needed, it’s a meaningful start. Adding a health room to each school plus the initial trainings mean high start-up costs (~$8/child), which continue to be funded by philanthropy. As Healthy Learners starts piloting in other countries, it could be a chance to test how lean the model could be while maintaining the high quality they’re known for.
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Healthy Learners is in early Scaling Stage, with the government of Zambia doing a lot and paying for some, and Healthy Learners still playing a key role in expansion and some ongoing support at schools. Upcoming expansion to other countries will be a good test of the model and how replicable it is in other contexts.
Our Take
For decades, global health has focused on saving lives of children under 5. Healthy Learners has demonstrated meaningful impact for school-age kids that can’t be ignored and the RCT will add evidence on education outcomes as well. Program results from Zambia show it works in rural schools just as well as urban Luska, a great sign for replicating in other country contexts. While Healthy Learners is still the programmatic glue, government staff are already delivering the bulk of the solution, and it’s integrated into national health and education budgets and policies. High start-up costs still require philanthropic support but costs to sustain the program are cheap enough already. This program has huge momentum in Zambia and high potential to work elsewhere.
Are you a serious funder and want to learn more?
This is just a snapshot of what we know about the organization. If you're an investor or funder that might send some serious dough their way, we're always delighted to share more. Reach out and we'll connect you with the right person on our team.
*this is not monitored for funding requests.
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