Focused on youth. Transforming Africa's health future.
Young people across Africa are ready to lead. At Healthy Futures South Africa, we create the pathways that make it possible. Pathways into: health careers, community-rooted innovation and entrepreneurship, and into a future where primary healthcare works for everyone.
We walk this path together: with youth, with communities and with partners who believe that lasting change begins when the next generation is given the tools, the opportunity and the space to shape it.
The journey toward equitable health systems in Africa starts here. And it starts with us.
Your journey, you way: Where to start?
Upcoming events
Opportunities
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Scholarship: PhD Fellowship Programme, HFSA
-We are pleased to announce that applications for the Healthy Futures South Africa (HFSA) PhD Fellowship Programme are now open.
The programme supports doctoral researchers whose work advances community-oriented primary care, strengthens health systems, and promotes equitable health innovation across Africa. We invite applications from candidates registered or eligible for registration at the University of Cape Town (UCT).
Related documents:
Closing date: 31 October 2026
Preparing youth for meaningful work of transforming health and wellbeing
Healthy Futures South Africa prepares young people for meaningful careers and innovation in health – through employment pathways, entrepreneurship support and a connected ecosystem of institutions, practitioners and communities working together to strengthen youth opportunities and build the next generation of health leaders and changemakers.
Strengthening local healthcare systems, from the ground up
Healthy Futures South Africa operates across three carefully selected sites in the Western Cape: Klipfontein, Saldanha Bay and Knysna-Bitou. Reflecting South Africa's diverse communities, from urban to rural, each site serves as a hub for learning, networking and community engagement, as well as a reference point for measuring impact.
Building lasting impact through a continent-wide collaboration network
Healthy Futures South Africa is a proud partner of the Africa Health Collaborative (AHC). The AHC brings together higher education institutions through shared knowledge, training programmes and cutting-edge solutions to develop a health workforce, drive innovation and strengthen health systems across the continent.
Youth as driving force for public health employment and innovation in South Africa
At Healthy Futures South Africa, young people are at the heart of what we do. By building pathways into meaningful health careers and supporting emerging innovators, we're empowering the next generation to strengthen wellbeing and primary health care across South Africa and beyond.
Our world in numbers
120M
Annual patient visits to healthcare facilities across South Africa.
45.4%
Young people not in employment, education or training (NEET) in South Africa.
#4
South Africa is one the continent's leading destination for health innovation funding.
5.85M
Projected shortage of health workers in the WHO African Region by 2030.
Meet the young innovators taking UCT to the Health Innovation Festival 2026
Learning across districts: COPC workshop strengthens shared approaches
Taking SA health innovation to the continent: HFSA entrepreneurs join HIFest'26 in Ghana
