What We Do

What We Do

We build the capacity of individuals and organizations to improve health outcomes

 Africa Capacity Alliance (ACA), formerly the Regional AIDS Training Network (RATN), builds the capacity of individuals and institutions across Africa to effectively strengthen health and community systems in relation to Significant Infectious Diseases (SIDs), Non Communicable Diseases (NCDs) and health equity and rights. ACA does this through training, capacity development, information sharing and advocacy.

Where we work

ACA works across the African continent and currently has members in 12 countries, namely Uganda, Rwanda, Tanzania, Kenya (where its secretariat is based), Malawi, Zambia, Zimbabwe, Botswana, Namibia, South Africa, Swaziland and Lesotho.

How We Work

How We Work

We achieve exponential impact through our extensive membership network

ACA is a membership organization currently consisting of 37 Member Institutions (MIs) across 12 countries.  ACA’s Member Institutions have diverse technical expertise and recognized competencies in improving health outcomes through their training and capacity development programs.  Each has significant reach across the health sectors within their own countries and throughout the region.  ACA MIs include International NGOs, National and Local NGOs, Management Institutions and University Departments.

We specialize in capacity building, training, information sharing and advocacy. 

Institutional Capacity Building

ACA develops and delivers institutional capacity building programs that break down the obstacles that inhibit people, organizations and governments from realizing their development goals.  ACA’s capacity building programs maintain a strong emphasis on Results-Based Management (RBM) as well as governance and leadership development.

Training

The demand for quality human resources in health continues to outpace the supply, and the need for continuous professional development of those working in the sector is crucial.  ACA facilitates the design, development and delivery of both short- and long-term courses for healthcare workers.  Each year, ACA and its MIs deliver more than 50 courses which provide healthcare workers with the capability to respond to emerging issues.

Information Sharing

Accurate and timely communication and information is critical to knowledge building as well as empowerment of individuals and organizations working in the rapidly evolving health environment.  ACA creates and manages a variety of virtual and in-person forums which support its Member Institutions and other strategic partners to engage and share information.

Advocacy

ACA Member Institutions are uniquely placed to influence policies that will increase support towards capacity development for healthcare response.  ACA advocacy efforts focus on building the capacity of healthcare actors to advocate for coordinated scale-up of quality healthcare at both national and regional levels.

Our Focus Areas

We focus our work in three areas that contribute the highest burden to healthcare in Africa.

1. Significant and Infectious Diseases (SIDs)

Despite significant improvements in prevention and treatment, infectious diseases such as HIV/AIDS, tuberculosis and malaria continue to have a disproportionate impact on the African population.  ACA’s capacity development programs promote the integration of infectious disease response within broader health systems.

2. Non-Communicable Diseases (NCDs)

Chronic diseases represent a growing public health challenge as they become ever more prevalent as a result of demographic, behavioral and social changes.  ACA’s capacity development programs strengthen response to NCDs such as cancer, heart disease and diabetes.

3. Health Equity and Rights (HER)

Equitable access to healthcare for all is an important component of disease prevention.  ACA’s capacity development programs strengthen systems that focus on provision of healthcare for marginalized populations.

Our Strategic Pillars

Health Systems Strengthening (HSS): ACA works towards strengthening Health Systems to ensure effective delivery for Significant Infectious Diseases (SIDs), Non Communicable Diseases (NCDs and Health Equity and Rights (HERs) interventions in Africa.

Community Systems Strengthening (CSS): ACA strengthens Community Systems to promote effective Civil Society Organisations’ response in the delivery of community-based SIDs, NCDs and HERs community based interventions.

Public Private Partnerships (PPP) for Health: In this pillar, ACA fosters PPP in health with emphasis to those relevant to SIDs, NCDs and HERs, through capacity development.

About Us

ACA, previously known as Regional AIDS Training Network (RATN), was founded in 1997 as a project of the Universities of Nairobi and Manitoba, with support from the Canadian International Development Agency (CIDA), as a network of training institutions to address the lack of HIV and AIDS-specific training for healthcare workers in resource-limited settings. The network originally included seventeen (17) Member Institutions in seven (7) countries.

In 2003, RATN was registered as an independent NGO with a focus on training and capacity building for effective HIV & AIDS response in the Eastern and Southern Africa region.

Over the last sixteen years, RATN has delivered over 500 courses and trained more than 7,000 African healthcare workers who have impacted millions of patients. While training remains a core component of its work, RATN has expanded its activities to include technical and institutional capacity building, advocacy, research and knowledge and information sharing. RATN’s technical expertise has also expanded beyond HIV and AIDS to include significant and infectious diseases (such as HIV and AIDS, tuberculosis and malaria), non-communicable diseases (such as cancer, diabetes and heart disease) and health equity and rights (such as access to maternal and child care, gender equity and marginalized populations).

To reflect this larger mandate, RATN changed its name to the Africa Capacity Alliance (ACA) and recalibrated its organizational mission to providing sustainable capacity solutions that will improve health outcomes, and therefore lives, in Africa. The network currently includes thirty-seven (37) Member Institutions in twelve (12) countries within Sub-Saharan Africa.

In March of 2014, ACA officially launched its five-year strategic plan (2014 – 2019). ACA’s strategic plan focuses on health systems strengthening, community systems strengthening and capacity development for public-private partnerships in health.

Collaboration has and will continue to be the key to ACA’s success. If you would like to find out more about ACA’s programs and/or explore potential partnerships in the pursuit of better health outcomes, please contact:

The Executive Director
Africa Capacity Alliance
ACAexecutive@africacapacityalliance.org

Download current ACA’s Strategic Plan (2014-2019) here:

Our Focus Areas

We focus our work in three areas that contribute the highest burden to healthcare in Africa.

1. Significant and Infectious Diseases (SIDs)

Despite significant improvements in prevention and treatment, infectious diseases such as HIV/AIDS, tuberculosis and malaria continue to have a disproportionate impact on the African population.  ACA’s capacity development programs promote the integration of infectious disease response within broader health systems.

2. Non-Communicable Diseases (NCDs)

Chronic diseases represent a growing public health challenge as they become ever more prevalent as a result of demographic, behavioral and social changes.  ACA’s capacity development programs strengthen response to NCDs such as cancer, heart disease and diabetes.

3. Health Equity and Rights (HER)

Equitable access to healthcare for all is an important component of disease prevention.  ACA’s capacity development programs strengthen systems that focus on provision of healthcare for marginalized populations.