Bridging the Gaps in Access to Healthcare

Everyone deserves access to high-quality healthcare, when and where they need it most. At Touch, we build health systems of the future for sub-Saharan Africa.


Learn more about Touch’s ecosystem of partners. Click here

Health Programming Innovation Across Three Focus Pillars

01

Healthcare Workforce

Healthcare Workforce

Human resources for health (HRH) in Africa are the continent’s most valuable asset. But health systems struggle to develop and deploy HRH strategies. HRH data, planning tools, and predictive modeling are lacking. Touch fills these gaps with a suite of HRH interventions that optimize HRH resources.

02

patient access

patient access

The barriers that inhibit access to healthcare in sub-Saharan African are complex. Financial constraints, a lack of adequately-resourced health facilities, and long distances to care are some of the most common barriers. We break down access barriers though innovative solutions.

03

hospital excellence

Hospital excellence

A hospital is a healthcare business. Our ROOT model (results-oriented operations transformation), provides hospitals in LMICs with strategies for achieving operational excellence. A hospital’s ability to meet patient demand depends on optimized hospital operations. Touch’s ROOT programming enables hospitals to achieve transformational results for patients.

M-mama Reaches Major Milestone: 60,000+ Emergencies Transported

Connecting pregnant women to emergency care in rural regions of Africa.

M-mama Reaches: 60,000+ Emergencies Transported

Connecting pregnant women to emergency care in rural regions of Africa.

Our North-Star Principles
Guide Our Work

Sustainability isn't just a word

At Touch, we believe that sustainability isn't just a word. It's a way of working from program design, to relationships, to strategy  that prioritizes hard questions and creative collaboration. We leverage the best tools and strategies from the private sector in the service of the public good.

Data-driven Solutions. Proven results.

Our programs deliver measurable results. Designed in partnership with national and local governments and civil society partners, Touch’s programs deliver clear gains in healthcare quality and access.

Twenty Years of Health Impact

Originally founded as Touch Foundation in 2004, Touch Health has worked to strengthen health systems in sub-Saharan Africa by building health solutions that increase access to care for millions,  support a strong and resilient healthcare workforce, and  transform hospital service delivery.

See Our Impact
27
%

decrease in maternal mortality in regions using m-mama

33
K

healthcare workers allocated using the POA+WISN system

1,000
+

healthworkers graduating annually from CUHAS across 13 cadres of medical specialities – a 12x increase in production.

350
K

annual patient care pathways improved through the Biomedical Engineering Center of Excellence at Bugando Medical Centre

m-mama Expands to Kenya in 2024

Building on the success of achieving national scale in Tanzania and Lesotho, a collaboration of funding partners are backing m-mama’s expansion to Kenya. A joint effort between Vodafone Foundation, the Kenyan Government, USAID, Safaricom, and the M-Pesa Foundation, the m-mama emergency transportation system for pregnant women and newborns will launch in Kenya in 2024 with an implementation timeline of 4 years. The implementing partners of m-mama in Kenya are Touch Health and Pathfinder International.  In June 2023, USAID Administrator Samantha Power announced the expansion during a visit to Nairobi. Read her remarks here.

Health Workforce Planning in Guinea-Bissau

In Guinea-Bissau, a West African nation of just over 2 million people, the Health Ministry is evaluating the status of the healthcare workforce to determine how to optimally distribute key cadres of health workers across the nation’s health facilities. The immediate area of focus: human resources for health (HRH) supporting service delivery for HIV, TB, malaria, and antenatal care.Touch’s POA methodology supports governments to evaluate and optimize the placement of HRH, based on geography and population, available health sector budget, and facility workload levels. Read more about POA here

Meet the People of Touch

Damian Masanja

Damian is a changemaker. After a 23-year career as an operations expert with Tanzania Breweries, Ltd., he joined Touch as a private sector mentor, embedded at the Bugando Medical Center in the Lake Zone of Tanzania. Bugando serves over 350,000 outpatient annually, but faced long-standing challenges to keep medical equipment maintained and in service. As a mentor, Damian’s challenge was to introduce and integrate established best practices from the science of operations management into the hospital, helping Bugando create and launch Tanzania’s first Centre of Excellence in Biomedical Engineering.The program was called HTM – Health Technology Management – and Damian’s work between 2018 and 2021 produced incredible and sustained results. Read more about the HTM program here

Touch Partners With Sanofi To Tackle Non-communicable Diseases

Touch, in partnership with Sanofi’s Global Health Unit, is addressing the rising challenge of non-communicable diseases (NCDs) in Tanzania through the new program, MediFIKIA. This initiative aims to strengthen supply chains, enhance hospital pharmacy operations, and ensure rural patient access to NCD medications. MediFIKIA builds on previous healthcare efforts, reinforcing Touch's commitment to improving NCD care and supporting well-resourced hospitals. The collaboration with Sanofi marks a significant step in advancing healthcare outcomes.

The m-mama emergency transport system expands to Kenya in 2024, backed by partners including Vodafone Foundation, USAID, and the Kenyan Government. With a 4-year rollout, Touch Health and Pathfinder International will implement the program, announced by USAID's Samantha Power in Nairobi, June 2023.
In Guinea-Bissau, the Health Ministry is assessing the healthcare workforce to distribute health workers efficiently across national facilities, focusing on services for HIV, TB, malaria, and antenatal care. Touch's POA methodology aids this process by optimizing HRH placement considering geography, budget, and facility workload.
Between 2018 and 2021, Damian shifted from Tanzania Breweries to mentoring at Touch for Bugando Medical Center, where he was key in launching Tanzania's first Biomedical Engineering Centre of Excellence and improving medical equipment management through the HTM program.
The MediFIKIA program by Touch and Sanofi's Global Health Unit aims to improve NCD care in Tanzania by strengthening supply chains, enhancing pharmacy functions, and ensuring rural medication access. This initiative reflects Touch's commitment to better healthcare outcomes through strategic collaboration with Sanofi.