What happens when women stop waiting for systems to change and begin dismantling and rebuilding them? Across Africa, a new generation of women leaders is answering this question through decisive action.
These pioneers are developing healthcare models tailored to the realities of young girls, translating community wisdom into vital mental-health interventions, leveraging the law to demand institutional accountability, and creating platforms for the next generation to spearhead the change they wish to see.
Four women. Four distinct approaches. One powerful objective. What unites these leaders is more than the organisations they lead; it is the fundamental belief that those most affected by a problem must be central to designing its solution. These women are key figures within or connected to The She Tank, a global feminist culture lab and creative studio, developing ideas, designing campaigns, and producing stories that shape women’s power and gender futures. The worlds of gender, ideas, pop culture, art, and religion are their playgrounds.
Serah Malaba, Dr Esther Tumbare, Naana Otoo-Oyortey MBE, and Fatia Kiyange exemplify a fundamental shift in leadership. Their respective organisations: Tiko, Friendship Bench, FORWARD, and the Center for Health, Human Rights and Development (CEHURD) have each been recognised as Action for Women’s Health awardees. This recognition validates a philosophy of listening: systems cannot meaningfully serve women if they do not include them in the design.
Serah Malaba: Designing with Girls, Not Just for Them
“We stopped designing systems for girls and started building them with girls,” asserts Serah Malaba, Co-CEO of Tiko. Operating across six African countries, Tiko connects young women with essential healthcare. For Malaba, the mission is visceral; having lost both parents to AIDS at 24, she knows that when systems fail, the cost is measured in futures denied. The Action for Women’s Health award brought tears of relief to the Tiko team. It was a validation of the dignity of the girls they serve. Tiko is now leveraging this support to tackle the “Triple Threat”: unintended pregnancy, HIV, and gender-based violence. By integrating peer mobilisers and trauma support, Malaba is creating a safe ecosystem where girls are empowered to rewrite their own stories.
Dr Esther Tumbare: The Wisdom of Grandmothers
At the Friendship Bench, innovation is rooted in cultural reality. CEO, Dr Esther Tumbare, leads an intervention where the simple act of a grandmother listening on a wooden bench bridges Africa’s mental health gap. Being named an awardee proves that community-led wisdom, when supported by evidence, can challenge global assumptions about where healthcare begins. Tumbare recognises women as the "shock absorbers" of society. Friendship Bench doesn't start with a diagnosis; it starts with presence. The grandmothers have taught Tumbare that leadership is about creating conditions for others to find their own capacity to move forward. Her vision is a future where healthcare is accessible right where people live, starting with the person sitting beside you.
Naana Otoo-Oyortey: A Sisterhood of Global Change
With over four decades of advocacy, Naana Otoo-Oyortey, Executive Director of FORWARD, believes the future of women’s rights rests on young leadership. The Action for Women’s Health award allows the expansion of Tuwezeshe Akina Dada (“Empowering our Sisters”), a programme mentoring young women in Africa and the UK to become the next generation of feminist leaders. From her early days in rural Ghana, Naana learned that change must be community-led. Addressing practices like FGM requires more than condemnation; it requires creating genuine choices through education and justice. Her vision is one of dignity and bodily autonomy, where women have the agency to shape every decision affecting their lives.
Fatia Kiyange: Justice as a Bridge to Care
For Executive Director of CEHURD, Fatia Kiyange, the law is a tool for ordinary women to demand extraordinary change. Born to a teenage mother who fought for her children’s rights, Kiyange views justice as the bridge between a woman being heard and being ignored. Through CEHURD, she holds health systems accountable and provides legal aid to the most vulnerable. CEHURD’s work spans from the courtroom to community dialogues, achieving landmark successes in maternal health investment. Kiyange’s leadership moment is defined by the belief that when communities know their rights, they can demand their dignity. This Women's Month, these four trailblazers remind us that African-led solutions are not just necessary, they are already reshaping the future of global health.
"In the years I’ve spent working on women’s health, I’ve heard from so many women who feel invisible in the health system—who simply haven’t gotten the care they need. Fortunately, extraordinary community leaders are stepping up to change that. Serah, Esther, Naana, and Fatia are four of those leaders. They each deeply understand the health challenges that women in their communities face—and they’re responding with determination, creativity, and solutions that work. Their work reminds us that some of the most innovative ways of helping people get care are being created by African women, for African women."
— Melinda French Gates
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