Nairobi – “For Kenya, digitization and data are not simple enablers. They are the backbone of our universal health coverage,” said Hon. Aden Duale, Cabinet Secretary for Health, as he declared the First Africa Health Data Forum officially open in Nairobi on 10 November 2026.
Kenya is hosting the three-day Africa Health Data Forum, which runs until 12 November under the theme “Better Data, Better Health for All”. It is convened by the World Health Organization (WHO), the Kenya Digital Health Agency and the Ministry of Health. The meeting brings together over 300 participants from 51 countries across governments, development partners, academia, civil society and private-sector innovators in the WHO African and Eastern Mediterranean regions to share experiences, identify priorities and explore practical solutions.
Health data are the records countries rely on to understand why people are dying, spot new health threats early and send health services and resources where they are most needed.
The Kenya Cabinet Secretary for Health, Hon. Aden Duale, described how Kenya is bringing its health records together. “So our vision is very simple: one patient, one longitudinal health record, which are accessible wherever that patient receives care,” he said. “However, as external financing shrinks, Africa cannot afford fragmented systems, cannot afford parallel reporting and duplicated investments. Every dollar and every shilling must strengthen our national health information system.” He announced plans to establish a National Intelligence and Analytics Centre under the Digital Health Agency to strengthen health data analysis.
“What gets measured is managed, and what gets measured in real time, we can act in real time,” he said. “However, Africa should not merely be a consumer of technologies developed elsewhere. We must become producers of solutions that respond to our own priorities and realities.”
Professor Mohamed Yakub Janabi, WHO Regional Director for Africa, pointed to Kenya’s response to Bundibugyo Ebola Virus as an example of data at work. Kenya traced all 135 contacts of its first case, both within Kenya and internationally, and the eight contacts who later tested positive were already in quarantine.
“Data did not replace people. It told people where to go, whom to call, and when,” said Professor Janabi. “Good data turns alarms into actions. That only happens when the right information reaches the right people at the right time. Kenya has shown us what is possible when data and decisive actions meet.”
At the opening, Professor Janabi launched a new WHO report, The Maturity and Functionality of Health Information System in the WHO African Region. The assessment, conducted in 2024 across 40 of the Region’s 47 Member States, gave health information systems an overall maturity score of 59 out of 100, indicating that many countries in the WHO African Region are still at an early stage in developing the systems and capacities needed to produce and use reliable health information.
Dr Abdourahmane Diallo, Director, Programme Management at the WHO Regional Office for Africa, said stronger systems matter for every health budget. “A budget allocation is a commitment to the public. Governments need credible evidence of whether funding was used as intended and what it achieved,” he said.
In a video message, Dr Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, WHO Director-General, said: “Crucially, Africa’s health data must be owned, governed, and used by African countries in the interests of their people.”
WHO launched the Regional Health Data Hub in August 2026 to bring together information from different health programmes in one place. Dr Benson Droti of the WHO Regional Office for Africa showed participants how it works. “It is not the WHO’s platform. It’s a platform built for the member states,” he said.
In her welcome remarks, Dr Neema Rusibamayila Kimambo, WHO Representative to Kenya, said: “The aim of this Forum is not another set of recommendations. It is to listen to countries and act together, and WHO stands ready to align our support behind country priorities.”
Partners echoed the call to count every person. “For UNICEF, behind every data, there is a child,” said Etleva Kadilli, UNICEF Regional Director for Eastern and Southern Africa. Aboubakri Diaw, Chief of Staff of the United Nations Economic Commission for Africa, explained why that count matters for planning. “A child who is not counted is a child who is not planned for,” he said.
Over the next two days, countries and partners will look at what needs to change and turn country needs into shared priorities, coordinated support and plans for follow-up. The forum will meet every two years to review progress.
“Let us leave Nairobi with a very practical Africa Health Data Roadmap,” said Cabinet Secretary for Health Hon. Aden Duale. “Let us leave Nairobi with a country-partner alignment matrix, with very clear responsibilities, clear timelines, a way to track delivery.”
Source: www.afro.who.int
