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Celebrating a decade of the Active Healthy Kids Global Alliance and its Global Matrix initiative

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Celebrating a decade of the Active Healthy Kids Global Alliance and its Global Matrix initiative

March 22, 2025 | by

Thank you to Iryna Demchenko for providing this post.

 

This post summarizes a service spotlight article titled “Celebrating a decade of the Active Healthy Kids Global Alliance and its Global Matrix initiative,” recently published in the British Journal of Sports Medicine.

Regular physical activity is important for children’s growth and development. However, in the last decades, many children and adolescents worldwide have not been active enough to promote optimal health and well-being. With more time spent on screens and less time being physically active, this problem has become a growing public health concern.

What is the Active Healthy Kids Global Alliance?

In 2014, in response to global calls for physical activity promotion and monitoring, experts in the physical activity field created the Active Healthy Kids Global Alliance (AHKGA) – a global network of researchers, health professionals, and stakeholders who work together to improve physical activity in children and adolescents from around the world. Since its establishment, the main activity of the AHKGA has been its large international project called “Global Matrix on Physical Activity for Children and Adolescents.”

What is the Global Matrix?

The Global Matrix is an international initiative released every few years, with a goal of learning more about how physically active school-aged children and adolescents are, around the world and finding ways to further improve activity levels. Within the Global Matrix, physical activity experts from multiple countries develop country-specific Report Cards, where they use the best available evidence to assign grades from F (failing) to A+ (excellent) to 10 common physical activity indicators. The indicators include Overall Physical Activity, Organized Sport, Active Play, Sedentary Behaviours, Physical Fitness, Family and Peers, School, Community and Environment, and Government. Then, the findings of Report Cards are analyzed to understand the global state of physical activity among children and adolescents. One of the main benefits of this initiative is that teams from multiple countries develop their Report Cards in a harmonized way, following the guidance from the AHKGA. This allows countries to compare themselves with others and exchange ideas on what can help children and adolescents stay active and healthy.

What has been achieved?

In 2024, the Active Healthy Kids Global Alliance celebrated its 10th Anniversary.  Over the 10 years, the Global Matrix initiative has seen four successful editions: Global Matrix 1.0 (2014), 2.0 (2016), 3.0 (2018) and  4.0 (2022) – all released in different parts of the world, engaging a growing number of participating countries and experts. Seventy different countries from 6 continents have participated in at least one of these editions.

Launch of the Global Matrix 4.0 in Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates (October 24, 2022).  This edition Involved the collaborative work of 682 experts, representing 57 countries and jurisdictions.

Over the years, AHKGA’s Report Cards and Global Matrices have shown notable impact across multiple sectors, helping to bring more attention and to create better strategies to support children’s and adolescents’ physical activity worldwide. Members of the AHKGA published over 230 research articles and made more than 370 conference presentations to disseminate Report Card and Global Matrix findings and to call for action. Partnerships with many international groups have been formed to collaboratively work towards healthy levels of physical activity for all.

What is next?

The AHKGA continues fulfilling its mission “to power the global movement to get kids moving through thought leadership, knowledge translation and mobilization, capacity building, and advocacy”. Currently, the Global Matrix 5.0 edition is in progress. It is scheduled to be released at the International Society of Physical Activity and Health Congress in Fall 2026 in Mexico. With about 70 participating countries and jurisdictions, the Global Matrix 5.0 will be the most comprehensive assessment of global variation in child and adolescent physical activity. Stay tuned!

If you are interested in learning more, please explore the following links: