End-of-year message from the REACH Network Co-chairs

December 2025

Dear colleagues, friends, and partners of the REACH Network,

As we come to the end of 2025, we extend our warmest thanks to everyone who joined the REACH Annual Network Meeting last week, whether in person in the United Arab Emirates or virtually, from across Africa and beyond.

Your engagement, clarity, and commitment over those days reflected the strength and maturity of this Network and made the meeting both immensely productive and genuinely inspiring.

The discussions we shared captured the reality of the moment we are living in: health systems facing economic pressures, climate-related shocks, humanitarian challenges, and persistent inequities that continue to shape the lives of mothers and children across the African continent.

And yet, despite these challenges, countries demonstrated remarkable resilience, innovation, and leadership, reminding us why this work matters, and why we must continue to move forward together.

Throughout the meeting, we reaffirmed the values that define REACH: a commitment to equity, the belief that every child deserves the chance to survive and thrive, and the central importance of national ownership and African leadership. These principles will continue to guide the Network as we move into a new year.

We were encouraged to see how countries are bringing integration to life, connecting nutrition, immunisation, maternal and newborn care, malaria prevention, community systems, and, when appropriate, azithromycin.

They are showing us, tangibly, what practical, system-strengthening collaboration can achieve. This is how we build sustainable progress, and our REACH countries are leading the way.

We were also heartened to see the importance accorded to strengthening monitoring and evaluation, to antimicrobial resistance surveillance, and to planning for rigorous mortality and morbidity assessments. These are essential pillars for transparency, stewardship, and responsible implementation, and the commitments made in this area mark an important step forward for the Network.

Finally, we extend our heartfelt appreciation to all the partners and institutions who support us in this work. We value your dedication to and respect for national leadership deeply and look forward to continuing our collaboration in ways that remain both aligned with country priorities and grounded in lived experience.

As we close the year, we do so with optimism and a shared sense of responsibility. Despite the difficulties in our present moment, there is also great promise. Together, with mutual trust, shared learning, and evidence-based action, we have a historic opportunity to improve child survival across Africa. We are grateful to be able to tread this path with you all.