Youth Will Fix African Healthcare — If We Let Them

"The child who is not embraced by the village will burn it down to feel its warmth." — African proverb

African healthcare is in ICU. We all know it—long queues, medicine stock-outs, one doctor per ten thousand patients, and a nurse who looks at your swollen leg and says, “Take paracetamol.” Again.

But here’s the twist: while policymakers debate at five-star hotels and NGOs write reports longer than the Book of Isaiah, a quiet revolution is brewing. In WhatsApp groups, Telegram channels, Zoom calls and hackathons from Nairobi to Accra to Cairo, young Africans are cooking up the cure.

Not a metaphorical cure. An actual one. Apps. AI bots. Drug delivery via drone. Menstrual health platforms. Virtual clinics. Health data platforms. Youth are not just dreaming—they're doing.

The Youth Are Already at Work

Let’s highlight a few real ones before the older generation claims their glory:

1. Kelo (Nigeria)

A digital health wallet allowing patients to track their health spending, prescriptions, and insurance info. Built by actual Nigerian youth tired of watching their parents dig into pockets for every malaria case.
🔗 https://www.kelohq.com

2. Zuri Health (Kenya)

A platform connecting patients to doctors, labs, and pharmacies via SMS. Yes, SMS! Because not everyone has a smartphone. Their founders? Young, bold, and local.
🔗 https://www.zuri.health

3. Healthtracka (Nigeria)

Founded by Ifedayo Durosinmi-Etti, Healthtracka offers lab testing from the comfort of your home. Youth-led. Women-led. Impact-led.
🔗 https://www.healthtracka.com

So, What’s the Problem?

Simple: we don’t let them lead.

They get mentorship slots but not board seats. Their apps get praise but not procurement contracts. They get asked to volunteer “for visibility” while consultants from Switzerland earn $1,000 a day to write about “African resilience.”

Imagine being told your healthtech startup is “too ambitious”—in a continent with over 400 million youth and over 50% of the population under 20 (United Nations, 2023). That's like saying someone is “too hydrated” in the Sahara.

Anecdote Time: The Funding That Ghosted

A Ghanaian 24-year-old built an AI tool for real-time disease surveillance in rural areas. She presented it at a global pitch competition. Everyone clapped. UN reps, donors, bigwigs. They even gave her a plaque.

When she asked for follow-up funding?
Crickets.

Meanwhile, the same donor gave $5 million to a Western consultancy “to study youth-led innovation in sub-Saharan Africa.”

“Even a lizard nods when it falls from the wall.”
Translation: Just because donors applauded doesn’t mean they’ll help you rise.

Let Youth Lead, Not Just Participate

Here’s what we must start doing:

• Fund ideas without 20-stage proposals and logframes.

• Allow young founders to make mistakes, pivot, and grow.

• Include youth in procurement pipelines and government tenders.

• Support youth-friendly incubators like Villgro Africa (Kenya), MEST (Ghana), and Co-Creation Hub (Nigeria).

Don’t mentor youth into silence—mentor them into power.

From Tokenism to Trust

It's not enough to ask youth to attend health innovation panels as panelists. Put them in charge of the panel.

Let them reimagine medical education. Let them redesign how insurance works. Let them write policies, not just review them in Google Docs with “suggesting” mode.

“He who teaches a child is planting a forest.” — Bantu proverb
But let’s be honest: our forest won’t grow if we only water old trees.

Conclusion: Not Africa’s Future — Africa’s Present

The narrative must change. Youth are not Africa’s future—they are Africa’s present. They’re the ones coding through the night, bootstrapping businesses, and making healthcare make sense.

The older generation? Guide, don’t guard. Mentor, don’t micromanage. Support, don’t suppress.

Because if you don’t pass the baton now, the youth will build a whole new racetrack—and run without you.

References

Healthtracka. (2024). Health tests at your doorstep. https://www.healthtracka.com
Kelo. (2024). Your health, in your hands. https://www.kelohq.com
Zuri Health. (2024). SMS-powered healthcare. https://www.zuri.health
United Nations. (2023). Youth Population Overview: Sub-Saharan Africa. https://www.un.org/development/desa/youth/