New partnership platform pioneers innovative financing for Girls' Health and Well-being
South Africa’s Department of Women, Youth and Persons with Disabilities (DWYPD), the South African Medical Research Council (SAMRC), UNFPA (United Nations Population Fund), Organon and Tiko launched the Girls’ Partnership Platform in Ekurhuleni this week. This national, outcomes-based financing mechanism represents a groundbreaking step forward in expanding adolescent sexual and reproductive health (ASRH) services across South Africa.
This initiative comes at a critical moment in the global development landscape. As global funding for sexual and reproductive health tightens, the Platform introduces a timely, sustainable financial structure that optimises every dollar and rand spent. By shifting public and partner investments away from paying for operational activities to paying strictly for verified, measurable health outcomes, the mechanism maximises fiscal accountability while opening new sustainable funding channels. South Africa is already a global leader in Outcomes-Based Financing, having hosted the Outcomes Finance Alliance Summit in 2026.
Girls and young women aged 15 to 24 in South Africa face severe health and social hurdles: over 117,000 girls aged 10–19 gave birth in 2024/25, 1,000 new HIV infections occur each week among women and girls, and roughly one-third of young mothers never return to school.
Speaking at the launch, Deputy Minister of Women, Youth and Persons with Disabilities in South Africa, Mmapaseka Steve Letsike said: “Empowering young women requires action-oriented models that address health and social disparities together. The Girls’ Partnership Platform aligns directly with our national priority to safeguard adolescent wellbeing, reduce teenage pregnancy, and keep girls in school.”
Dr Nevilene Slingers, SAMRC Executive Manager for the Investment4Health Programme said:
“Building on the experience of the Imagine Social Impact Bond, which delivered reproductive health services to school-going South African girls, this platform helps ensure the South African health system remains accessible and responsive to girls' needs amid falling international aid resources. By leveraging outcomes-based models, public and private capital work together to scale sustainable healthcare models that directly serve South Africa's youth.”
The Girls’ Partnership Platform puts girls at the centre of care, ensuring greater choice, dignity, and access to healthcare options in their local communities. By combining public co-funding, multilateral support, and private capital into a unified, state-aligned structure, the Platform enables:
- Greater health choices in local communities: Girls gain confidential, dignified access to an integrated suite of local health services, empowering them to make informed choices about their bodies and futures.
- Groundbreaking collaboration across sectors: Uniting government stewardship, medical research leadership, UN agency support, Organon's private sector partnership, and civil society implementation into a single pooled mechanism.
- Timely funding alignment: Bridges the global health financing gap by proving that public and private capital can work together effectively through results-based investments.
- Unlocking the 'Girl Dividend': Securing adolescent health directly boosts school retention, workforce participation, and long-term socio-economic development.
- Institutionalised local ownership: Co-led by the SAMRC and DWYPD, with support from the National Department of Health and Department of Basic Education, the model ensures successful interventions integrate seamlessly into long-term national health budgets.
Under this model, Tiko implements the programme and directly supports delivery of community services against pre-agreed performance targets, including access to modern contraception, HIV testing, PrEP, ART initiation and continuation, mental health screening, SGBV screening, and SGBV support pathways.
"We are delighted to be launching this programme to support girls in our communities. Girls are the architects of our nation’s future, and The Girls’ Partnership Platform puts them at the very centre, ensuring that every solution is designed around their lived realities, protects their rights, and gives them total agency over their health and futures, "said Sheilla Benyera, Tiko South Africa Country Director.
The Platform will support 80,000 girls and young women aged 15–24 years. The start of The Girls Partnership Platform will be initiated in the existing Ecosystems Ekurhuleni, City of Johannesburg, Tshwane and scale and expansion into other Gauteng districts including Sedibeng and West Rand, as well as Moretele in the North West Province, and Newcastle and eThekwini in KwaZulu-Natal (KZN).
Innovative Financing & Outcome Payments
Outcomes payments are disbursed strictly upon independently verified achievements, pooled from key global, national government, and private partners including UNFPA South Africa, the National Treasury (via SAMRC), and Organon.
"At a moment when global development funding is under pressure, this collaboration shows how innovative financing can unlock essential health choices for girls directly in their communities. UNFPA is proud to join forces on a model that gives young women agency over their bodies and futures. The GPP is starting in South Africa but will become infrastructure for future funding innovation across the region." Yu-Yu, Country Representative, UNFPA South Africa.
Country Lead, Africa Access Markets for Organon Mokgadi Mashishi emphasised that, “Every adolescent girl should have the information, care and support she needs to make informed choices about her health and her future. At Organon, we believe investing in women’s health starts with removing the barriers that limit those choices. Through this partnership, we are helping expand access to care in South Africa and supporting a sustainable financing model that puts the needs of women and girls at its centre.”
About SAMRC
The South African Medical Research Council (SAMRC) was established in 1969 and is dedicated to improving the health of people in South Africa through research, innovation, development, and technology transfer. Its research scope encompasses laboratory investigations, clinical research, and public health studies, focusing on South Africa’s quadruple burden of disease: maternal, newborn, and child health; HIV/AIDS and TB; non-communicable diseases; and interpersonal violence. The SAMRC generates evidence-based information to inform health policy and financing, transform clinical practice, and enhance overall population health. As the country's largest local funder of health research, medical diagnostics, devices, and therapeutics, the SAMRC pioneers cutting-edge medical innovations—spanning genomic research, novel treatment regimens, vaccine development, diagnostic tools, and new drugs and devices.
About Tiko
Tiko strengthens the resilience of girls across Africa by protecting them from the “Triple Threat” unintended pregnancy, HIV, and sexual violence – by removing barriers to care: stigma, low awareness, cost, and system fragmentation. We build and strengthen local ecosystems connecting girls to integrated health services at no cost through community-driven models of care powered by a technology platform. By removing barriers and acting as their companion, Tiko supports girls so they can take charge of their health and futures.
About UNFPA
UNFPA, the United Nations Population Fund, is the United Nations sexual and reproductive health agency, working to uphold the rights and choices of women, girls and young people across more than 150 countries and territories. It reaches millions of women, girls and young people with essential health services, protection from violence, and vital information about their bodies and rights. It also helps governments plan for changing demographics, to build inclusive and resilient societies.
About Organon
Organon is a global healthcare company formed to focus on improving the health of women throughout their lives. We build upon our strong foundation of more than 60 medicines and solutions across a range of areas including reproductive health, heart disease, allergies and asthma. Organon’s existing products produce strong cash flows that support investments in innovation and future growth opportunities in women’s health and biosimilars. In addition, Organon is pursuing opportunities to collaborate with biopharmaceutical innovators looking to commercialise their products by leveraging its scale and presence in fast growing international markets. Organon has a global footprint with significant scale and geographic reach, world-class commercial capabilities, and approximately 10,000 employees with headquarters located in Jersey City, New Jersey.
Contacts
- Tiko: Tia Jeewa - tia@tiko.org
- UNFPA: Siphumelele Dyakophu - dyakophu@unfpa.org
- SAMRC: Tendani Tsedu - tendani.tsedu@mrc.ac.za