A nonprofit organization that improves healthcare services for school children in Zambia received a prestigious 2025 Skoll Award for Social Innovation in March. Brazelton Institute Director — home of the Newborn Behavioral Assessment Scale and Newborn Behavioral Observations System — and Brigham and Women’s Hospital pediatrician Lise Johnson, MD, chairs the organization’s Board of Directors. Healthy Learners partners with the Zambian government to train teachers as school-based health workers who monitor student health, provide preventative care and health education, treat minor illnesses, and refer children with severe cases to a public health clinic. The program currently serves about 1 million children in 600 schools across the country. Children under age 5 have good access to free pediatric care in Zambia, but school-age children traditionally do not, Johnson said. The Healthy Learners model expands access by moving the first point of healthcare contact for children between the ages of 5 to 17 to where they spend their time — schools — reducing absenteeism and enabling students to learn and thrive. The Skoll Award comes with a $2 million award that the organization will use to scale its program across Zambia, and even into other Sub-Saharan countries. “This is the kind of pediatric work that is very close to my heart,” Johnson said. “I am thrilled for the Healthy Learners team and the Zambian government for this very well-deserved recognition of their hard work and partnership to expand healthcare access and improve health outcomes for Zambia’s young people.”

View the Healthy Learners 2025 Skoll Award for Social Innovation video.