The Johnson & Johnson Foundation Announces $5 Million Expanded Investment in Africa Frontline First Catalytic Fund to Strengthen the Community Health Workforce

New Brunswick, New Jersey (September 24, 2025) - The Johnson & Johnson (J&J) Foundation today announced a $5 million investment in the Africa Frontline First (AFF) Catalytic Fund, a fund hosted by the Global Fund to Fight AIDS, TB & Malaria. As an AFF Catalytic Fund founding supporter, the J&J Foundation's total pledge has now increased to a total of $20 million for the training and deployment of 200,000 professional community health workers (CHWs) into national health systems across Africa.

Since its launch in 2022, the AFF Catalytic Fund has leveraged global and domestic resources across the public and private sectors to pool $220 million to achieve remarkable impact. AFF Catalytic Fund investments have supported the recruitment, training, and integration of over 68,000 professional CHWs across eight priority countries, affecting 40 million people.

This new J&J Foundation commitment is part of J&J CareCommunity ,a global social impact platform from Johnson & Johnson and the J&J Foundation that champions nurses and community health workers to advance access to quality care around the world.

"Community health workers are uniquely positioned to deliver essential health services in their communities," said Vanessa Broadhurst, Executive Vice President, Global Corporate Affairs, Johnson & Johnson. "Expanding their numbers and addressing the challenges they face in delivering quality care has the potential to save millions of lives and lay the groundwork for stronger, locally-led health systems across Africa."

As trusted members of their communities, CHWs improve health outcomes, lower costs and increase access to care by cost effectively expanding the reach of health systems.ⁱBut just 1 in 8 of Africa's health workforce are community health workers and the majority are unpaid.

"We welcome the Johnson & Johnson Foundation's expanded investment in the AFF Catalytic Fund," said Peter Sands, Executive Director, The Global Fund. "With greater investment we can unlock the full potential and ensure communities have access to professionalized, trained, compensated and integrated community health workers."

Africa Frontline First Catalytic Fund
The AFF Catalytic Fund is a joint initiative of Africa Frontline First, Africa CDC and Global Fund to Fight AIDS, TB and Malaria with founding support from the Johnson & Johnson Foundation and the Skoll Foundation. The AFF Catalytic Fund has its origins in Africa Frontline First, an African-led initiative that mobilizes resources to strengthen community health programs and scale 200,000 professional CHWs, delivering care to 100 million people by 2030. The initiative is championed by leaders across Africa including her Excellency Ellen Johnson Sirleaf, Nobel Peace Prize recipient and former President of Liberia. The Global Fund works with local governments to strategically leverage AFF Catalytic Fund investments in five areas: long-term, sustainable financing; policies, processes and structures that strengthen health systems; digital tools and information systems; professionalization of community health workers; and reliable supply chains.

About Johnson & Johnson Foundation
The Johnson & Johnson Foundation is a registered charitable organization that reflects the commitment of Johnson & Johnson to create a world without health inequities by closing the gaps between communities and the care they need. Funded solely by Johnson & Johnson, the Foundation supports both global and in-country partnerships and community-led initiatives to champion health workers, especially nurses and community health workers, and advance access to quality healthcare. Learn more at https://www.jnjfoundation.com .

About Johnson & Johnson
At Johnson & Johnson, we believe health is everything. Our strength in healthcare innovation empowers us to build a world where complex diseases are prevented, treated, and cured, where treatments are smarter and less invasive, and solutions are personal. Through our expertise in Innovative Medicine and MedTech, we are uniquely positioned to innovate across the full spectrum of healthcare solutions today to deliver the breakthroughs of tomorrow and profoundly impact health for humanity. Learn more at https://www.jnj.com .

© Johnson & Johnson Foundation 2025

Footnotes
ⁱ WHO. Global strategy on human resources for health: Workforce 2030. https://www.who.int/publications/i/item/9789241511131. Last
Accessed: April 2024

Media contact:
Ronan Collins
[email protected]