Addis Ababa, March 23 – Youth Digital Health Network (YiDHN), a strategic initiative of CDC’s Africa Youth Division, has announced The Young Digital Health Champions 2026 cohort (Y-DHC), recognizes emerging young leaders shaping Africa’s digital health landscape.
With more than 65% of Africa’s population under the age of 35, investing in youth leadership is critical to health security, digital transformation and economic growth across the continent.
The Y-DHC program identifies, profiles, and connects dynamic young leaders who are actively shaping the digital health landscape in Africa. Through this initiative, the Africa CDC is leveraging the West’s demographic advantages to accelerate youth-led solutions in health innovation and service delivery. These champions will serve as role models, advocates, and collaborators to advance innovation, policy, and practice in digital health. The initiative aims to create a visible and effective network to inform policy, strengthen local innovation ecosystems, and expand youth leadership across the continent.
Will employ fifty (50) young African professionals in the next 12 months Engage in capacity building, policy dialogue, and collaborative initiativesAdvancing digital health innovation, policy, and practice In different regions and conditions.
By connecting emerging leaders with policymakers, regulators, and industry partners, the program aims to accelerate the translation of digital solutions into scalable and sustainable health interventions.
“As champions, these young leaders will play a central role in promoting youth engagement in digital health across Africa. They will adopt youth-driven health policies, promote local innovation, strengthen digital literacy and technical capacity, and connect with peers and international partners to accelerate progress towards universal health coverage,” said Dr. Chris Promise Kaneki, Africa Division Lead.
Recognizing the transformative role of young African professionals in shaping the future of healthcare in Africa and achieving universal health coverage, YiDHN provides an organized platform for capacity building, collaboration and policy engagement across the continent.
YiDHN’s thematic areas align with broader strategic objectives aimed at strengthening digital capacity and training among youth; youth involvement in governance and regulatory processes; Facilitating access to finance and ways to scale up sustainably; and connecting young innovators with key digital health stakeholders.
The new cohort was selected from thousands of applications across Africa and abroad. The diversity and scale of applications reflects the growing momentum of youth-led innovation in Africa’s digital health ecosystem. These young innovators and professionals have been selected to represent the next generation of digital health leadership on the continent.
This initiative is part of the implementation of the Africa CDC Strategy for Youth Engagement and Participation in Health (Yes! Health Strategy) 2025-2028, which positions youth not only as beneficiaries, but also as architects. An African vision for health security and governance.
“We welcome these young leaders at the forefront of the technological revolution. Together, we are building a healthy and prosperous Africa,” said Dr Kanki.
About Africa CDC
The African Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (Africa CDC) is the public health agency of the African Union. As an independent agency, the African CDC supports AU member states to strengthen health systems, improve disease surveillance, and enhance emergency preparedness and response. For more information, visit: http://www.africacdc.org and follow Africa CDC on LinkedIn, X, Facebook, and YouTube.
Media Relations
Margaret Edwin
Head of Communications and Public Information EdwinM@africadc.org
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