How francophone health professionals across Africa launched a global malaria community together – and stayed with it to faire la différence (make a difference)

The Geneva Learning Foundation (TGLF) today honours 189 TGLF Ambassadors whose contribution this summer helped health and humanitarian professionals across Africa find their way into a global community dedicated to turning the tide against malaria – and stay in it once the hard part started.

They did it in staff meetings and WhatsApp groups, in corridors and on phone calls after the working day ended.

They sat with colleagues who could not get a platform to load on a cheap handset.

They rang people who had enrolled with enthusiasm and gone quiet three weeks later.

One Ambassador followed a meeting using her headphones, while attending a regional review of maternal deaths.

Another gave up on troubleshooting over WhatsApp, got on the road, and turned up at a colleague’s house.

Work that nobody sees

“Almost none of this leadership is visible,” said Karen E. Watkins, President of the Foundation.

“It happens mostly outside of formal spaces. This is not a title somebody carries. It is the decision, made again and again, to help one more colleague keep going. Recognizing these Ambassadors publicly is important.”

On 25 August 2026, each Ambassador received a Letter of Commendation recognizing their contribution, to share with supervisors, colleagues, professional associations, and partners.

Malaria: how do we connect everyone who wants to turn the tide?

On 29 June, more than 2,000 health professionals from over 30 countries joined the launch of Malaria: Turning the Tide, the Foundation’s peer-learning programme for people working in malaria-affected communities.

Nurses, midwives, community health workers, pharmacists, clinicians, laboratory staff, data officers, epidemiologists, programme managers – from village consultations to national malaria programmes.

The Ambassadors built that room.

They pitched the programme in health-zone forums and district management meetings, and reached colleagues through professional associations, university cohorts, clinical networks, humanitarian organizations, and community groups.

They made clear this was not another webinar: participants would study what peers had actually done, put their own experience on the table, and leave with a plan for their own setting.

What arrived was the real substance of malaria work: patients who wait too long to seek care, fever treated by guesswork in a shop, data that never reaches anyone who can act on it, communities who have stopped believing the message, mosquitoes that no longer behave the way the guidance assumes, tests that run out, and new tools nobody has been trained to use.

Many Ambassadors then stayed with the people they had recruited.

They set up small support groups, checked in, answered questions at odd hours, showed learners how to work offline when the network failed, and helped them cut an assignment into pieces small enough to finish before a shift.

Charlotte Mbuh, TGLF’s Director of Programmes, said:

“Getting a name onto a platform is not the achievement. Finishing is. Contributing is. Changing something in your own health zone because of what a colleague in another country told you. That is what the Ambassadors are doing, and we salute them.”

Learn more about the TGLF Ambassadors: Malaria: nobody turns the tide alone

Why do we need to learn from each other?

TGLF is a Swiss nonprofit that builds new ways for health and humanitarian professionals to learn, connect, and lead change.

In its first decade it connected more than 80,000 professionals across 137 countries, most of them in West and Central Africa.

Its premise turns conventional training upside down.

The people closest to a problem already hold operational knowledge that formal guidance overlooks.

They bring real challenges from their own work, examine what colleagues elsewhere have tried, review one another’s analysis, and build something they can use where they are.

“Peer learning replaces nothing,” said TGLF Founder Reda Sadki.

“Not evidence, not guidance, not medicines or vaccines or financing or a functioning health system. What it does is answer the question guidance cannot answer: how does this work here, with these people, under these conditions? Only the person standing in that clinic can tell you.”

Knowledge has to move in both directions.

Guidance must reach the practitioner, and what the practitioner learns must shape the next programme.

Who are the TGLF Ambassadors?

Ambassadors come from the alumni of TGLF programmes.

Each has completed at least one, and each brings a commitment to supporting colleagues, the leadership to improve their own community, and a dedication to the Foundation’s mission.

They take the role on alongside demanding clinical and programme jobs, and their mandate is set out in a Letter of Mission.

Appointment follows a four-week activation.

Candidates study how the Foundation works, write an action plan, sharpen how they speak to colleagues and partners, mobilize their networks, and give and receive structured peer feedback.

This year they also wrote their own leadership stories, critiqued each other’s work, tested different ways of persuading a busy colleague, and committed to actions modest enough to sustain month after month.

They met regularly through the summer – working sessions, not ceremonies – to compare methods, solve problems, and work out what learners needed next.

Some joined from areas affected by armed conflict, from Ebola response operations, through internet blackouts and storms.

“An invitation is the easy part,” adds Charlotte Mbuh.

“The work is everything after it – whether someone could get onto the platform on a phone, what made them stop in week two, and whether anyone called them back. That is what the Ambassadors spend their evenings doing.”

Leadership that travels

The role builds capability that outlasts any single campaign: explaining a complex programme plainly, reading what motivates or discourages a colleague, adapting to local conditions, giving feedback that helps, and supporting adult learners without pressure.

Several Ambassadors saw it change their standing at work. Here are four examples.

• Nicolas KASHAMA used root-cause analysis learned through TGLF when he was selected to present before professors and senior colleagues at the University of Kinshasa, and says it raised his credibility with university authorities.
• Alain NTUMBA MUSAMPA took the Foundation’s method to his health-zone management team and came away with an official letter authorizing community sensitization in two health areas before the rains.
• Olivier DJAH, a district chief medical officer in Côte d’Ivoire, used his district’s management meetings and supervision visits to introduce colleagues to TGLF, and later presented a new course to his own team.
• Marlène KAPINGA MULUMBA, who leads continuing professional development, brought TGLF into workplace meetings, training sessions, and professional forums – and her feedback changed how the Foundation designs its learning activities and discussion forums.

The full directory of appointed Ambassadors is available on the Foundation’s Ambassadors page.

Honor Roll of TGLF Ambassadors

The Geneva Learning Foundation commends the following Ambassadors for their contribution between 3 June and 25 August 2026. Listed alphabetically by first name.

• Aboubacar Sidiki DOUMBOUYA
• Abubakar GWARZO
• Adoma AFFUL-KWAW
• Adrienne Vanessa KOUATCHOUANG, médecin
• Affranchi MWEMBIA
• Aimé UMBA, Incident manager des épidémies
• Ajay TERDAL
• Alain BIRHIBULA, Biologiste Médical
• Alain KATENDE NTUMBA, PMO
• Alain NTUMBA MUSAMPA, Médecin traitant et MPH en management de la santé
• Alphonse KITOGA
• Amira RAHI
• Armelle SOH KENNY, Technicien de laboratoire
• Arthur Fidelis METSAMPITO BAMLATOL
• Asani MUEMBO, médecin
• Atila MPULA NSONGO, Medecin expert en santé publique
• Augusta Bintou TRAORE, Technical advisor Gender & Equity
• Basile NGONTCHA
• Baudouin MBASE BONGANGA, médecin
• Benoit KAZADI MUNYOKA, médecin
• Bernadette MBUYAMBA, consultante
• Bernardine MBAKANY’AKI, médecin
• Bienfait KOKO BARHALIBIRHU, Chargé des finances
• Blaise ASUMANI KANTAMBA, Consultant SBC
• Blaise NGANGA, Vaccine manager
• Blessy MATHEW
• Brice Alain DAKAM NCHEUTA, Responsable de la Promotion de la Santé et de l’Engagement Communautaire
• Brice Delphin FOUDA ATANGANA, épidémiologiste
• Brigitte MEUGANG
• Bryony BROOKMAN-ESHUN
• Cédrick NGELEKA, Superviseur
• Célestin IYANGO, Directeur
• Charles BIDILU MINTELA, pharmacien
• Charles MWINYI KABULO
• Cheikh Saadbou NDIONE
• Chris John KAYEMBE MANDE, médecin traitant
• Christian MUTAYONGWA, Médecin directeur
• Christian NZOMUNA
• Christine Arlette MOUBOUA, Infirmière
• Cide CIZA, Logisticien du médicament
• Claude BARAHINDUKA, Professional de la santé publique
• Claude KASHASA MUBULANYI, Chef de Projet
• Clémence MITONGO, Directrice générale
• Clovis ISIYA, Consultant Santé public
• Constant SAWA
• Dachollom ALAMBA MADU
• Daniel KALONGA, Spécialiste protection
• Daphnée MICHEL RISSELIN, médecin de sante publique
• David MUKEBA
• David Panu MUKALA
• Delphin Bisimwa BUTAMA, Coordinateur National
• Delphin BUTAMA, Coordinateur
• Denis TSHIDIBI, Biologiste médical
• Diane NYEMB, SRH Implementation Support
• Dieudonné MUNGUARHUSIMA
• Doussou MARA, Chargée d’Etude au Département de Recherche en Santé Publique
• Dramane SOGOBA, Médecin
• Edward OWUSU
• Elie BONGENDA, Appui technique AFENET
• Élie MUTOMBO, Chargé de surveillance épidémiologique
• Elogne Bla Josiane Laurencia EPONOU épse ASSI
• Emmanuel KARUME, Superviseur provincial au programme de lutte contre le paludisme
• Emmanuel KIBAMBE, Expert
• Emmanuel LOPONGO
• Eric LUGUNDA NYEMBO, Chef de Bureau, appui Technique aux zone de santé
• Erick KEMBOKA NGBALE, Ambassadeur
• Esperent NTAMBUE, Epidémiologiste
• Faustin EDINGO LONGE NDJAOKAKO
• Fidèle TSHIBANDA, Superviseur PEV
• François KABAMBA DIBALA, Gestionnaire de Programme
• François YIMBU TSASA, Ambassadeur
• Gaston NGALAMULUME MUABI, Logisticien
• Gentil MULAMBA LUNYANGU, epidemiologiste
• Georges NTAMBWE-LUSANGA
• Giresse KAZADI KATUMBA, Médecin
• Harouna MOROU, Médecin Chef de District Sanitaire
• Hebreux YUMBU, médecin
• Henriques AFOMBOLO, assistant technique
• Honoraire TSIFOINALAHIMANIRISOA, Coordonateur
• Hugues PATAOLI KYALEMANINWA, Relais communautaire
• Hyacinthe ZOUNGRANA, Médecin
• Ibilola ATURETA
• Ibrahim DJIRI, Planification et suivi évaluation
• Ibrahima dit Boua KEITA, Médecin au centre national d’immunisation
• Innocent MAKUMYAVIRI, Field Epidemiologist
• Jacob Serge AKONO AMVAM, Public health specialist
• Jean Benoît MUTSHE KAYONGO, Analyste
• Jean Bosco MULAMBA NGALULA, Vonsultant OMS
• Jean Paul KANDA NDIBUALONJI, Médecin Superviseur
• Jean Paul NSIMBA, Expert en Santé Communautaire
• Jean YUMBA KAZUMBA
• Jean-Claude LODJO, Chargé de mission du ministre de la santé
• Jean-Pierre NZAZI, Coordonnateur General
• Jean-Richard MUTOMBO, Chargé de programme
• Jeanpaul KABI
• Jellisters DEBITHA
• Jephthé TSHIMANGA KADIMA, Coordonnateur
• Jérémie MPATA LUMPUNGU, Ambassadeur TGLF
• Jeremie Mutombo BINENE
• Joëlle GBENGE, animatrice communautaire
• John NGALAMULUME
• Jules ILAKA NAKAMUKWIKILA, Pr dr en epidemiologie
• Junior BIANKADI NDUDI
• Junior MBALE, Chargé de suivi et évaluation
• Justin MAZABA, Medecin chef d’antenne PEV kinshasa-EST rdc
• Justine NIRINA, Responsables des programmes
• Kaba Théodore BAKANHO, Consultant
• Kevin KALONDA SYMPHORIEN, Médecin clinicien et expert en Programme Élargie de vaccination
• Kofi N’ZUE, NPO/EPI
• Kotchikpa Graciano AYEFOUNI
• Krou Mathieu N’GUESSAN, INGENIEUR DES TECHNIQUES SANITAIRES OPTION SANTE PUBLIQUE
• Lavilé BILIVOGUI, responsable projet
• Léon Magloire BAKALA MATONA
• Léopold BULUYA, Expert Economie de la Santé
• Librice PRÉVILUS, médecin
• Liliane SERUHUNGO, Infirmière
• Louis KAZADI, Infirmier
• Louis Timôn BALEKE
• Louise Nkusu LUSANGU, Nurse
• Luckson KIVIDI KIKAMA, Médecin de santé publique
• Mahadou BAKOUAN
• Manara LÉVI
• Manu ATUUT, médecin
• Marcel MUAMBA, Coordonnateur national
• Marcel TSHIMANGA MBUYI, Expert au bureau de surveillance épidémiologique PNSM
• Marcellin MAKAYA, Médecin traitant
• Mariam GBANE EPSE DEAZON, Consultante
• Marie Fidèle NGO SINTAT, IP
• Marlène KAPINGA MULUMBA, Chef de Service chargé de la formation continue
• Martine YOWA NDAYE, Épidémiologiste
• Mathieu KALEMAYI NDJIBU, Assistant technique Ginger International du projet Gavi
• Mireille MBIYA KABUNDJI, Nursing
• Mireille MUTUALE CIABU NKIMA, Chef de section mobilisation/service de Communication
• Mohammed MOHAMED
• Mortimer Papy MOHELE BOSALO, Médecin de santé publique au Programme National de Santé Mentale
• Nadine MAYANGU
• Naomie MAYEMBA KIBAKILA, Médecin
• Nathan BINENE KAYEYE, Promoteur/ Infirmier Titulaire
• Nayla DOUGHANE, Honorary Director
• Néhémie MUYABA, Consultant
• Nicolas KASHAMA, Nutritionniste
• Nicolas OMWIRA BUNGUKE
• Noelly WATUSADISI, Médecin
• Nyclege MWISINGA ALAIN
• Odege KAWANDA, Médecin
• Olivier BENGIBABUYA
• Olivier DJAH, Medecin chef District
• Ousmane IDI, Epidemiologiste
• Ousmaou GOBITAKA, Medecin
• Pascal YALALA BUSHUGU, Analyste
• Pascaline Florette JAGUE, technicienne d’analyse medicale
• Pasiko KUMU EZA, Point focal APEC
• Patient MBASHA, Point focal polyvalent
• Patient TWIZERE, Nord-kivu
• Patrice BAMULENGA
• Patrice KAZADI, Project Director
• Patrick ILUNGA, Condultant
• Phenina ANDREW
• Pierre LUBAMBA, Coordonnateur
• Préféré MATUTU, Medical Activity Manager
• Rameaux NKOLLO MBACHAN, Facilitateur / Animateur
• Raoul ASSOGBAKPE
• Rita OLENGA OKITENGENO, Animatrice communautaire
• Rodrigue RUTAGANDA MANEGABE, Stagiaire
• Roger MBIKAYI, Animateur communautaire
• Roméo MONINGA BENGE, Coordinateur
• Sam MADIKA, Chargé au programme
• Samuel AKANA MOKOBHE, Volontaire
• Samuel MAFUMBA, Médecin traitant
• Samy MULEMANGABO, Directeur Exécutif / CEO
• Sandrine Lydie OYEGUE LIABAGUI
• Seydou Amadou TRAORE
• Seydou MOHAMED OUEDRAOGO, DGSP
• Siméonie NZUZI, médecin
• Simplice MOTUTA, Spécialiste en Santé Publique
• Socrate NKULU ILUNGA, Médecin Superviseur
• Soufyane MAHAMAT AHMAT
• Stanis MUTAMBA, Médecin généraliste
• Teiggy BIRHULA MONGANE, Ebola Response Team Leader
• Thomas MBODO, médecin
• Vanessa NDAMUSO, médecin
• Vikas DUBEY
• Vitus EJIOGU CHIBUEZE
• Wilfried NLANDU TEMBELE, Analyste SNIS, Médecin Epidémiologiste de Terrain
• Willy MUKADI SABUE, Agent de santé communautaire
• Woolf KAPITENI MBWEKI, épidemiologiste
• Yankee NTAMBWE, Infirmier titulaire
• Yannick MUTAMBO RAJABU, Derecteur National
• Yemboido LOMPO