NAIROBI, KENYA / NEW YORK, USA – 17 September 2026. At a time when recent international development assistance cuts and service disruptions have left severe gaps in healthcare access across Africa, Tiko, in partnership with The Audacious Project and TED, today released a new grantee film showcasing how an integrated, peer mobilisers and community health workers-led health workforce model is complementing, and scaling healthcare delivery for girls.

Across sub-Saharan Africa, millions of girls face the interconnected “triple threat” of unintended pregnancy, new HIV infections, and sexual violence. Stigma, high costs, and fragmented healthcare services frequently prevent girls from seeking care. Tiko addresses these structural barriers by seamlessly connecting girls to high-quality contraceptive, HIV services, and trauma-informed care for survivors of sexual violence, at no cost to the girls, while supporting healthcare workers to deliver girl-friendly services. 

The model relies on peer mobilisers — young women recruited by community-based organisations within the communities they serve, who act as a girl’s first point of contact. Rather than making a single referral, mobilisers can remain alongside girls across their care journey, by helping identify different needs, explaining options, connecting them into appropriate services and following up, while Community Health Workers and health care workers anchor girls into formal healthcare.

Serah Malaba, Co-CEO, Tiko, said on the launch of the film :

“We are thrilled to have worked together on this film. It brings an urgent truth to light: girls in Africa need non-judgmental, accessible and free healthcare today. We are deeply grateful to The Audacious Project for believing in our mission with catalytic backing that allows us to dream bigger. Real impact, however, relies on grassroots partnerships and the fierce dedication of our peer mobilisers, who bridge the gap between girls and vital integrated services. Together, we aren’t just delivering health access; we are building an enduring blueprint of care that unlocks the full, unstoppable potential of Africa’s girls.”

Scaling A Blueprint to 2030

In February 2026, Tiko was announced as one of the 2025 grantees of The Audacious Project, the collaborative funding platform within TED. This selection recognised Tiko’s bold vision addressing some of humanity’s biggest challenges through their mission to protect the most vulnerable African girls from the Triple Threat of unintended pregnancy, HIV and sexual violence. 

“This film offers a compelling look at how dismantling healthcare barriers grants girls the power to dictate their destinies.” said Anna Verghese, executive director of The Audacious Project. “Audacious is proud to support Tiko and this powerful look at what is possible when community-led innovation is backed by catalytic capital to put each girl’s health, agency and future firmly back in her hands.” 

By 2030, Tiko will scale its operations across six African countries – Kenya, Uganda, Ethiopia, Nigeria, South Africa, and Burkina Faso, impacting 3.5 million vulnerable girls every year. This expansion will prevent 3.6 million unintended pregnancies, reduce HIV incidence, support survivors of sexual violence, and establish an enduring blueprint for girl-centered care across Africa.

At the heart of Tiko’s Audacious ambition are three priorities:

• integrating sexual violence services into its existing family-planning and HIV offering;
• scaling its proven model across five high-need countries; and
• building a financially sustainable model that can endure beyond philanthropy.

As Tiko scales, it aims to reduce the cost of supporting each girl from $27 in 2026 to $20 by 2030, while expanding government co-financing so national and sub-national governments increasingly share the cost of service delivery.

Impact Driven by Peer Mobilisers

Acting as a “compass” and companion throughout a girl’s healthcare journey, peer mobilisers provide trusted information, screen for Triple Threat risks, refer girls to nearby providers, and deliver active case management. Backed by donor funding through Audacious, this high-trust model is delivering measurable, scaled results:

• Integrated Care Options: Mobilisers have encouraged more girls to access integrated services: Contraceptive care, HIV and support for survivors of sexual violence. The proportion of girls accessing at least two of Tiko’s three Triple Threat service areas – HIV, family planning and SGBV – more than doubled from 28% as of January 2026 to 59% as of July. The integration rate is calculated over the preceding 12 months. As of July, the integration rate reached 82% in Ethiopia, 71% in Uganda, 65% in Nigeria and 56% in Kenya.
• Peer Reach at Scale: Tiko’s data also shows how the model translates into reach on the ground. Between January and July 2026, each individual peer mobiliser supported an average of around 48–75 girls per month, to access at least one HIV, family-planning or SGBV service. This includes HIV testing, PrEP, family-planning commodities, SGBV screening and services, referral completion, repeat visits and retention in care – illustrating how one trusted peer can become a scalable entry point into multiple parts of the health system
• HIV Prevention & Treatment: Alongside the growth in integrated service use, Tiko has seen sharp increases in HIV service uptake. Between January and July 2025 and the same period in 2026, HIV testing services rose 98% from 324,069 to 641,487; PrEP services rose 779% from 4,933 to 43,357; and ART services rose 80% from 14,008 to 25,249.
• Early SGBV screening & Navigation: SGBV provides a particularly strong example of how Tiko’s peer infrastructure is scaling. The number of girls screened for SGBV by mobilisers increased from 1,098 in March 2025 to 67,624 in July 2026 – around 62-fold. Mobilisers accounted for 83% of all girls screened for SGBV across Tiko’s network in July.

As the needs of adolescent girls are at an all-time high, single-sector solutions are no longer enough. Tiko invites cross-sector partners to support this transformative blueprint to secure sustainable, long-term health outcomes for girls and young women across Africa.

Documentary Assets: Watch the TED/Audacious film here

Data pack available

Further information

About Tiko

Tiko is an African health organisation transforming girl-centric care through a seamless, tech-enabled, end-to-end service delivery model. By empowering peer mobilisers, integrating community health workforces, and supporting healthcare workers, Tiko connects adolescent girls and young women to free high-quality integrated care.

About The Audacious Project

Launched in 2018, The Audacious Project is a collaborative funding initiative dedicated to supporting bold ideas with the potential to change the world. Housed at TED and powered by the belief that ideas change everything, Audacious leverages a global network of visionary social entrepreneurs and funders to support bold solutions to the world’s most urgent challenges.

Audacious is issue-agnostic and supports grantees to balance audacity and achievability for lasting, systemic impact. Since 2018, Audacious has helped to catalyse nearly $9 billion for 70 projects, demonstrating what’s possible when we dream bigger and act together. The funding community includes respected donors and philanthropists including ELMA Philanthropies, Emerson Collective, MacKenzie Scott, Pivotal Ventures, Reed Hastings and Patty Quillin, Skoll Foundation, Valhalla Foundation and more.

Media Contact

Tia Jeewa: Tia@tiko.org