Healthy Learners

Awarded:

2025

Issue Areas:

Health

Web:

healthylearners.org

Download Profile Pdf

About the Organization

Historically, global health interventions have focused on the health of children under five, almost always ignoring the needs of millions of school-aged children. These children remain highly exposed to preventable and treatable illnesses during a period of life that is critical for learning and development.

Healthy Learners trains teachers as school health workers, using existing infrastructure to bring a scalable system of health care screening to children in schools. The organization partners with the government to train five to ten teachers per school as school health workers who monitor student health, perform basic first aid, provide preventative care, and refer severe cases to a clinic. Their innovative model improves health and academic outcomes for nearly one million children.

Ambition for Change

Healthy Learners is building a future where schools can support the overall health of children, resulting in a healthier, better-educated generation of young people and future leaders.

Path to Scale

After spending the last five years developing and refining a successful model, Healthy Learners is working with the Zambian Ministries of Health and Education to scale the model throughout the country. By 2028, Healthy Learners aims to reach 2.5 million children, or 70 percent of the primary school population.

Skoll Awardee

Lonnie Hackett

CEO and Co-Founder, Healthy Learners

Ignicious Bulongo

Co-Founder and Vice President of Programs, Healthy Learners

Lonnie Hackett, MSc.
CEO & Cofounder
Lonnie is a public health specialist and social entrepreneur. He has been recognized as a Truman Scholar, Rainer Arnhold Fellow, and a member of Forbes 30 Under 30. Lonnie has a Bachelor's degree in Biochemistry from Bowdoin College and a MSc. in International Health and Tropical Medicine from the University of Oxford.

Ignicious Bulongo
VP, Programs & Cofounder
Ignicious spent the first 15 years of his career with the Zambian Ministry of Health, most recently as director of the Ng'ombe Health Facility. Ignicious holds degrees in hospital management and clinical medicine. He received an advanced diploma in Participatory Learning Methods in Japan through sponsorship by JICA.

See Lonnie Hackett's profile

See Ignicious Bulongo's profile

Impact & Accomplishments

Healthy Learners works with 600 schools and serves more than 967,000 children across eight of Zambia’s ten provinces.
An early study of the Healthy Learners program showed a 38 percent reduction in student morbidity, a 52 percent reduction in the odds of growth stunting, and a 22 percent increase in health knowledge.

Affiliated