6TH ANNUAL MEETING
AHRIFF 2026 —
the sixth Forum
Building on the best-attended AHRIFF meeting to date. The 2026 programme is being shaped around what delegates asked for: innovative financing models, an innovation scaling fund, and coordination between entrepreneurship programmes.
Three days built to produce commitments
AHRIFF is not a conference of presentations. The format mixes plenary talks, panel discussions, 1:1 interviews and pre-recorded contributions with call-to-action sessions in which funders are asked to converge on a specific, named next step.
The 2025 edition ran six call-to-action sessions on priority challenges. Delegates asked for a longer meeting and more breakout time in 2026 — 81% suggested 2.5 to 3 days, and 76% wanted more breakout sessions — so the 2026 programme will carry more small-group work between the plenaries.
Focused sessions run alongside the main Forum for communities of practice that need dedicated time. In 2025 that meant a diagnostics financing meeting on 4 November, attended by more than 25 funders and implementers.
Local and global philanthropic funders, government agencies, development finance institutions, ODA agencies, African venture capital funders, angel investors, and African financial and empowerment institutions.
In 2025, 100% of delegates made new potential partnership connections and 96% of organisations said they would attend again. Every edition closes with a narrative report and named next steps.
Attendance is by invitation from the organising committee. Register your interest and the secretariat will be in touch as the 2026 dates are confirmed.
What delegates asked for in 2026
Ranked from the AHRIFF 2025 post-meeting survey, where delegates nominated topics for future meetings and satellite sessions.
01.
Innovative financing models
The standout topic, together with addressing the valley of death. Classical funding models are outdated and clear gaps in funding instruments exist.
02.
An innovation scaling fund
Closely related to the first, and the subject of repeated feedback across the survey responses.
03.
Entrepreneurship programme coordination
Forums where entrepreneurs from different funders’ programmes can meet, network and build local ecosystems.
04.
AI in health, and climate
Tied on votes. Two areas where global funders have pivoted sharply and where duplication is already visible across the continent.
The 2025 agenda in full
The fifth Forum, Cape Town, 5–7 November 2025, under the theme “How can we ensure a multiplier impact of funding?”. Select a session to see what was covered.
Day 1 — Setting the funding landscape
Wednesday, 5 November 2025Registration and networkingAll delegates
An opening window for participants to connect and establish early dialogue before formal proceedings.
Welcome and introductionsDr Richard Gordon — SAMRC
The lead organiser opened the fifth Forum and framed the year's theme.
Opening addressProf Ntobeko Ntusi — SAMRC
On the dramatic shift in global financing patterns during 2025 and the urgent need for closer collaboration between funders.
Outcomes of CPHIA 2025 and the Durban PromiseDr Elvis Temfack — Africa CDC
Seven commitments from the 4th International Conference on Public Health in Africa, from mobilising Africa's wealth for health sovereignty to reframing health as a strategic investment.
Implications of US funding withdrawalsProf Alice Norton — GLOPID-R / Pandemic PACT
Exposure of infectious disease research to funding contraction, and the countries most affected: Nigeria, DRC, Kenya, South Africa, Mali, Madagascar, Malawi and Zambia.
Grand Challenges programme overviewKedest Tesfagiorgis — Gates Foundation
From 14 scientific barriers in 2003 to a global partnership model fostering local experimentation and cross-country learning.
Bringing together CJ Fellows and GC partners in AfricaGrand Challenges partners and Calestous Juma Fellows
Structured collaboration between the country-anchored Grand Challenges network and the cohort of African scientific leaders built by the CJ Fellowship.
Strengthening Africa's R&D ecosystemChair: Dr Evelyn Gitau — Science for Africa Foundation
With a pre-recorded keynote from John Nkengasong, Mastercard Foundation, on partnerships for inclusive youth empowerment.
Call-to-action session 1: NCDs and precision medicinePatrick Ngassa; Rizwana Mia — PerMED consortium
The growing NCD burden in Africa against donor attention focused on infectious disease, and the opportunities in personalised medicine for genetically diverse African populations.
Day 2 — Learning about programmes in Africa
Thursday, 6 November 2025Regional health prioritiesModerator: Zoleka Ngcete — SAMRC
Grand Challenges programmes from Senegal, Ethiopia, Nigeria and Rwanda set out their current and future priority funding areas, with Ndeye Mbey Samb (Institut Pasteur Dakar), Godwin Bamsa (Grand Challenges Nigeria) and Tekeste Demisse (Armauer Hansen Research Institute).
Vaccine targets and manufacturing realitiesAmadou Sall — CEPI (pre-recorded)
On tailoring vaccine targets to African populations, and the case for funders to be bold, think long term and build the value chain end to end.
Understanding what exists: African programmes and investmentsModerator: Dr Nicaise Ndembi — International Vaccine Institute
Five flagship programmes funders can leverage rather than duplicate: the Africa CDC Pathogen Genomics Initiative (Collins Tanui), GIZ's capacity and local vaccine manufacturing support (Maja Opua), and nuvoteQ's AI-enabled clinical research ecosystem platform (Adriaan Kruger).
Capacity development in drug discovery and AIDr Jutta Reinhard-Rupp; Dr Ulrich Paquet
The GC African Drug Discovery Accelerator, RAFIKI, H3D's training and API manufacturing programmes and FIND's work across five countries — alongside the AIMS partnership with Google DeepMind, where 4,000 applicants competed for 40 scholarships.
Learning about funding models in other regionsModerator: Houda Ghozzi — Open Startup International
WHO's ESSENCE Network (Garry Aslanyan), GLIDE and the Middle East landscape (Farida Al Hosani), the Institute of Philanthropy (James Chan), Calouste Gulbenkian Foundation (Herminia Cabral), Judith Nielson Foundation (Upenyu Mawande) and the Right Foundation (Hani Kim).
Market shaping for local manufacturingModerator: Heather Sherwin — ELMA Philanthropies
Michael Anderson (MedAccess), Pierre Hugo (Medicines for Malaria Venture) and Iain Barton (Vizuri Health Dynamics) on demand forecasting, pooled procurement, tax incentives and bankable investment cases.
Incentivizing international investmentRobert Appelbaum — Webber Wentzel, interviewed by Mark Chataway
Legal, financial and structural incentives: risk-sharing, regulatory clarity and predictable policy environments — and why the private sector is missing from most health innovation discussions.
Plenary: lessons from other sectorsErik Wandrag — The Oceans Finance Corporation
Blended finance models and their common pitfalls, with two case studies from the blue-green space and how the structure could be adapted to African health.
Call-to-action session 2: entrepreneurship and precision medicineDr Richard Gordon; Houda Ghozzi; Monika Frentzel — ANRS
A 90-second survey found more than 15 entrepreneurial training programmes run by different funders — and not one cohort had interacted with another funder's programme.
Crossing the valley of deathModerator: Ken Osei — International Finance Corporation
Himesh Vallabh (IDC), Mark Feinberg (IAVI), Lily Steele (Global Innovation Fund), Colin Hundermark (Linea Capital), Thaheer Mullins (Angel Investor Network) and Francois Bonnici (Schwab Foundation, pre-recorded).
Day 3 — Communities of practice and next steps
Friday, 7 November 2025Drug and diagnostic manufacturing in AfricaFaith Mangwanya — Unitaid
Progress since the November 2022 AHRIFF meeting and the February 2023 satellite, and the follow-up work carried out with Unitaid, multiple funders and ecosystem builders.
From vision to action: financing diagnostic innovationSatellite meeting, 4 November 2025
More than 25 funders and implementers on the continental financing platform, brand trust and a standing working group for diagnostics manufacturing.
Climate and health: the Beginnings FundZodwa Mbambo — ELMA Philanthropies
A $525M pooled fund from 14 named funders and several anonymous donors, to accelerate maternal and newborn survival in Africa's highest-burden regions.
Update on new calls and funding strategiesTim Heinemann — KfW; Julie Brady — LifeArc; Norbert Tavares — CZI
KfW's post-Covid shift from donating vaccines to making them; LifeArc's new antimicrobial resistance strategy; and new Chan Zuckerberg Initiative work in Africa (pre-recorded).
Call-to-action session 3: NTDs and HIV preventionOyetola Oduyemi — The END Fund; Robert Matiru — Unitaid
The case for NTD investment, and — with Glaudina Loots (DSTI) and Gertrude Mngola (SANAC) — why lenacapavir shows the critical need for funders to align resources.
Conclusion and next stepsAll delegates
Commitments to deepen collaboration through shared learning, joint investments and coordinated approaches that reduce duplication.
