Amref UK Statement on Royal Patronage

Amref Health Africa UK is grateful for His Majesty the King’s ongoing support as Patron, an association which started in 1979 after King Charles visited Amref’s work in Kenya.

Nearly 70 years on from Amref’s establishment in Nairobi, we are Africa’s largest health development organisation. Led from Nairobi, we serve communities in 35 countries and our vision of African-led solutions to bring about lasting health change in Africa remains steadfast.

Today, 615 million people in Africa still cannot access the healthcare that they need. We see this as unacceptable. Health is a universal human right. And, as the COVID-19 pandemic taught us, we cannot have good health unless everyone, everywhere, has good health. The only way to ensure this, is to change the way we approach health development work. Power that has traditionally been held by people and organisations from the Global North should reside with African communities. They should lead health development efforts with support and investment where needed. They are the experts in their own unique contexts and in defining sustainable solutions for good health in Africa.

Amref’s work in this mission is guided by our value of Ubuntu – our interconnected, common humanity – as we strive to build a better, brighter future that protects us all.

With His Majesty as Patron, we look forward to raising awareness among the UK public and wider world of this critical global issue, the need to shift power to African communities, and to bolster international support for African-led solutions.

Pictured: Then Charles, HRH The Prince of Wales, on a visit to Amref Health Africa work in Kenya, 1979. Photographer unknown.