Health Justice at Scale

In addition to our direct work, we’ve developed a replicable model for community-driven health justice — one that we’re sharing with civil society partners across the country through training, mentorship, and collaboration. In 2019, Matimba partnered with the Global Fund to design and launch its human rights program in Mozambique — creating comprehensive training materials and building the capacity of recipient organizations to support community health workers and grassroots health advocates. Since then, we’ve mentored 83 community-based organizations (CBOs) and trained over 1,100 new health advocates and paralegals across the country, extending our reach far beyond what we could achieve alone. This partnership model strengthens the entire ecosystem working on health rights while preserving our grassroots approach.

We believe this model travels. The barriers patients face — disrespect, abuse, lack of information, and rights that exist on paper but never reach patients — are not unique to Mozambique. Neither are the solutions. We've spent thirteen years building and refining our approach; the next step is bringing it to organizations across sub-Saharan Africa — sharing what works, building a collective evidence base, and growing a movement for dignified, rights-based care.

For this model to reach its potential, it must be embedded in national and global strategies and funding frameworks — not treated as an add-on, but recognized as essential infrastructure. Matimba brings the patient perspective into the rooms where funding decisions are made. We helped design the Global Fund's human rights program in Mozambique, and we continue to make the case to both the Global Fund and PEPFAR that dignity and accountability aren't just moral imperatives; they are essential to achieving the health outcomes these investments are designed to deliver. Without accountability and trust, clinical investments will always fall short of their potential. A rights-based approach amplifies the impact of everything else — every clinician, every medicine, every dollar spent. It costs a fraction of what it safeguards. And it works.