01
Build the capacity of the health workforce
Train facility-based healthcare professionals and community health promoters (CHPs) to provide services that meet communities’ needs and improve health-seeking behaviours.
AMREF HEALTH AFRICA · PROJECT PROFILE
Project THRIVE
Transforming Community Health Through Integrated Primary Care in Kenya
Strengthening health systems so quality primary health care can be delivered effectively and sustainably to communities in Nakuru and Nyeri counties.
PROJECT SNAPSHOT
Jan 2024 – Dec 2026
Donor: Moderna Charitable Foundation
Direct reach
1.16M
people each year
Capacity building
1,100
health workers and CHPs
Leadership
60
county health department leaders
Total budget
$3M
project budget
Target counties
2
Nakuru and Nyeri
01 / THE CONTEXT
Building stronger systems for primary health care.
Kenya faced significant challenges due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Across the country, many areas face weak health systems, high levels of poverty and economic insecurity, and challenges arising from poor health-seeking behaviours.
Building on the previous project supported by Moderna Charitable Foundation, Amref’s Project THRIVE further strengthens health systems to effectively and sustainably deliver quality primary health care services to communities in Nakuru and Nyeri counties in Kenya.
PROJECT GOAL
To strengthen health systems to effectively and sustainably deliver quality primary health services to communities in Nakuru and Nyeri counties in Kenya.
02 / THREE PILLARS
How THRIVE is delivering change.
Activities are implemented across three connected areas of health system strengthening.
02
Deliver integrated PHC
Cascade a wider range of services to local facilities embedded in underserved communities and through community outreach and engagement events.
03
Strengthen the use of data for decision-making
Train county health officials in leadership, management and governance while improving data quality and strategy development.
COMMUNITY OUTREACH
03 / PROJECT STRATEGIES
A practical approach to system strengthening.
01Health system strengthening
02Health workforce capacity building
03Strengthening partnerships at all levels
04Continuous Quality Improvement (CQI)
05Leadership, management and governance coaching and mentorship
06Documentation and research
04 / EXPECTED OUTCOMES
Stronger workforce
More health workers and CHPs can address common diseases facing their communities, such as NCDs, and provide quality health services through new skills and knowledge.
Better access
Quality primary health services are more readily available in underserved communities, leading to better health outcomes through timely disease prevention, diagnosis and treatment.
Improved health-seeking
Communities demonstrate improved health-seeking behaviours and utilization of health services through extensive community engagement, access to information and linkages between layers of the health system.
Data-led decisions
Health sector leaders can utilize robust data for decision-making, with policies and resource allocations based on high-quality information.
More resilient health systems
The health systems in Nakuru and Nyeri counties are stronger, more resilient and capable of meeting today’s and tomorrow’s health needs.
05 / ACHIEVEMENTS SO FAR
Progress from Jan 2024 – Aug 2025.
Figures below reproduce the project profile’s reported 2024 and 2025 results. Blank source entries are not filled with estimates.
| Pillar | Activity | 2024 | 2025 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Capacity Development | Health care workers | 482 | 556 |
| Community healthcare promoters on PHC priority areas | 750 | 1,214 | |
| PHC Service delivery | Household service delivery | 737,023 | 1.3m |
| Household referrals to spoke | 19,165 | 364,734 | |
| MDT Inreach | 4,986 | 92,510 | |
| MDT Outreach | 4,591 | - | |
| Immunization (children) | - | 176,617 | |
| Human Papillomavirus (HPV) | - | 2,559 | |
| Data for decision making | Data review at the Community Health Unit | 98 | 126 |
| PCN data review | 4 | 4 | |
| C-KQMH (Work Improvement Team) | - | 20 | |
| Accountability - health care scorecards | - | 70 |
06 / CHALLENGES
Interruption of services
In 2025, cuts in U.S. foreign aid disrupted staffing, supplementary health financing and commodities in Nyeri and Nakuru counties.
Health information system downtime
Frequent outages in the eCHIS and the KHIS caused delays in data entry and incomplete reporting.
Civil unrest
Protests linked to the 2024/2025 Finance Bill disrupted health services, especially in peri-urban and urban areas.
07 / LESSONS LEARNED
Adapt the intervention.
Strengthen the system.
Tailored interventions improve uptake
Men continue to visit health facilities less often than women, largely due to long waits, work schedules and low awareness of available services. Project THRIVE found that participation increased when services were adapted to men’s needs.
Domestic financing is essential for resilience
Following intermittent commodity shortages, the project worked with Nyeri county to allocate supplementary funds from the Health Sector Service Fund to support procurement of essential medicines and commodities for affected primary health facilities. Allocating public resources for health system gaps is essential for sustainability.
Mpox Vaccination at Salgaa
PROJECT THRIVE
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