Children For Health

20/08/2026

A child learns. A child shares. A family acts.

Simple, practical health knowledge can travel far beyond the classroom, from children to families and into communities.

This , we celebrate children not just as recipients of health information, but as active partners in sharing knowledge that can protect health.

Help us reach more children and communities with vital health information: www.childrenforhealth.org

20/08/2026

When children learn simple, practical actions, such as using mosquito nets, reducing standing water and knowing when to seek help, that knowledge can travel beyond the child to families and communities.
At Children for Health, we believe children should not only receive health information. They can learn it, practise it and share it, becoming active participants in improving health around them.
This World Mosquito Day, we celebrate the power of putting health knowledge into children’s hands.
Help us reach more children and communities with vital health information.
Visit childrenforhealth.org to find out how you can support our work.

17/08/2026

We are delighted to welcome Firdouz Lambat as Treasurer for Children for Health.

Firdouz is a Chartered Global Management Accountant (ACMA, CGMA), holding a BSc (Hons) in Management Accounting from the University of Derby, England. She has spent over a decade turning complex finances into clear, honest pictures that leaders can act on. Her grounding in global health came at The Aurum Institute, where she spent five years managing multi-donor grants, from USAID, the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation and the CDC, ranging from $20,000 to $77 million, ensuring every dollar was accounted for and every report told funders the truth about impact, ensuring strong financial accountability and transparent donor reporting. She now leads finance for Multimodal Logistics Solutions (Pty) Ltd and Afrilog Groupage Services (Pty) Ltd.

As Treasurer for Children for Health, Firdouz brings that same rigour and a personal conviction to the charity's finances. Having worked closely with donor-funded health programmes for years, she has seen first-hand how sound financial governance helps ensure resources are used responsibly and effectively for the children and communities behind every grant. She sees her role not as a back-office function, but as part of the charity's duty of care to the people it exists to serve.

02/08/2026

Building Partnerships for Children's Mental Health in Zambia

We were delighted to participate in the Online Stakeholder Orientation and Pre-Launch Session for the SuperBetter Children: Building Child Health Literacy and Agency for Mental Health and Wellbeing project in Isoka District, Zambia.

As the Technical and Operational Lead, Children for Health is proud to be working alongside our implementing partner, Phoenix Foundation, to strengthen children's mental health through child-friendly, evidence-informed approaches that build health literacy, resilience and agency.

The orientation brought together representatives from the Ministry of Education, Ministry of Health, schools, healthcare professionals, civil society organisations, and project beneficiaries, reflecting a shared commitment to improving the wellbeing of children and young people.

We were honoured to contribute to discussions on the project's methodology and long-term sustainability, highlighting the importance of:

empowering children as active participants in their own health and wellbeing;
equipping teachers with practical, child-friendly approaches that can be integrated into everyday learning;
generating evidence to strengthen future policy and practice; and
building lasting partnerships across the education and health sectors.

We were also privileged to hear inspiring contributions from Dr Selorm K. Tsrakasu (Ho Teaching Hospital, Ghana), who shared a continental perspective on children's mental health, and Keith Wakeman from SuperBetter SuperBetter, whose reflections reinforced the value of resilience-building approaches for children and young people.

At Children for Health, we believe that improving children's mental health requires collaboration across sectors and countries. We look forward to continuing our partnership with Phoenix Foundation Phoenix Foundation, while working closely with the representatives from the Government of Zambia, health professionals, educators and other partners to generate learning that can strengthen child mental health promotion in Zambia and beyond.

Together, we can empower children with the knowledge, confidence and skills they need to thrive.

14/07/2026

Dr. Lilanga Hasini Batawalage, CEO of Children for Health together with our invited guest speaker Dr Gaya Gamhewage, Director of Communications, World Health Organization.

How can schools and communities better empower children in health promotion?

Full video https://youtu.be/V067dqy5hnk?is=ydBLjAZgENfMq5b5

14/07/2026

Every meaningful partnership begins with listening.

We're pleased to share the first milestone from our Children as Health Champions: A Five-Country Network for Action and Learning in Kenya.

Together with schools across Nairobi and its surrounding areas, we've laid the foundations for strengthening child health literacy and agency by building relationships, understanding local needs and creating a shared vision for healthier schools and communities.

Thank you to our Local Implementation Partner, Stowelink Foundation, and to the school leaders who have embraced this journey with us.

Swipe through to see how it all began.

03/07/2026

Introducing 'Healthy Futures' a new conversation series from Children for Health

We are delighted to launch the first episode of 'Healthy Futures', a series exploring the ideas, evidence and partnerships shaping the future of global health.

For our inaugural episode, Dr Gaya Gamhewage, Director of Communications at WHO, joins Dr Lilanga Hasini Batawalage, CEO of Children for Health, for a conversation on how children's health literacy can shape the future of global health.

Together, they explore:
-Why health literacy is about more than access to information.
-The importance of trust, participation and community ownership.
- How children can be recognised as active contributors to healthier families and communities.
- Why strengthening child health literacy and agency is an investment in both today's and tomorrow's generations.

At Children for Health, we are committed to advancing child health literacy and agency through community partnerships, evidence-informed practice and research. Through our +1 Generation Approach, we believe that investing in children today helps create healthier communities now while shaping healthier generations for the future.

Our sincere thanks to Dr Gaya Gamhewage for sharing her expertise and helping us launch this new series. We hope this conversation sparks new ideas, partnerships and action towards a future where children are recognised not only as beneficiaries of health programmes, but as partners in creating healthier societies.

Watch the full conversation here:

Welcome to Children For Health’s Podcast: Healthy Futures, a series...

11/06/2026

29/01/2026

We are absolutely delighted to announce the appointment of our new Chief Executive Officer at Children for Health, Lilanga Hasini Batawalage

Lilanga is a Medical doctor and Public Health Specialist with experience spanning the UK, South Asia, and international development contexts.

Her work sits at the intersection of health management, policy, research, and systems innovation, with particular strengthsin public health intelligence, climate change and migration health, gender integration, and emergency preparedness.

Across a career that includes roles within the United Nations, evidence-based project development, national level policy reform, and health data intelligence and project management support to the UK local authority health systems, she has consistently delivered impactful, evidence-based public health initiatives. She brings strategic thinking, technical leadership, and a collaborative, equity focused approach, alongside a genuine commitment to community level innovation.

This appointment follows a long, careful, and highly competitive selection process, with an exceptionally strong field of candidates. Lilanga stood out for both her vision and her ability to build on existing strengths while helping the organisation grow. The Board is excited to work with her as we enter this next chapter and look forward to what we will achieve together.