African countries could respond faster to disease outbreaks and better plan their health services under a shared data system proposed by Kenya to help the continent take greater control of its health information.
Health Cabinet Secretary Aden Duale wants countries in the World Health Organization African Region to work towards a common health data hub that would allow information to move more easily between different national systems.
He made the proposal in Addis Ababa during the 76th session of the WHO Regional Committee for Africa, attended by health ministers from the 47 countries that make up the WHO African Region.
The proposed system would bring together information collected from hospitals, laboratories, disease monitoring programmes and other health sources across the continent.
According to the proposal, having such information in one connected system would help governments spot possible health threats sooner. It would also support planning for health services and help countries decide how to use limited resources in areas where they are most needed.
Duale said the move should form part of wider efforts by African countries to become more self-reliant in healthcare.
“Africa’s pursuit of health self-reliance must move beyond declarations and be anchored on three priorities: sustainable health financing, local manufacturing and digital transformation,” he said.
Kenya is backing a regional health data hub built around common standards, which would allow different health information systems used by African countries to work together.
The proposal is being made at a time when the ownership, sharing and protection of health information has become a major concern across Africa.
More than 20 African countries have entered into bilateral health agreements with the US under President Donald Trump’s America First Global Health Strategy.
Some of those agreements have led to concerns over the handling of personal health information and biological samples.
Kenya was the first African country to sign the US agreement last year. The deal has since been challenged in court amid concerns over privacy and the protection of sensitive health information.
Duale said Africa needed a system that would give countries greater control over their own health information while still allowing them to share data for public health needs.
He said clear rules would be needed to determine who can access the information and how it can be used.
The Health CS also said African countries should have ownership of the proposed system and be able to trust how it operates.
“This approach will help protect African sovereignty over the continent’s health data,” he said.
The WHO has already developed a minimum version of the proposed Regional Health Data Hub as it works towards bringing health information from countries across the region into a more connected system.
The organisation's existing online hub contains health information and country profiles for all 47 countries in the WHO African Region.
It is meant to bring together health information that is spread across different sources and make it easier to analyse and use when making decisions.
The WHO said the proposed regional hub would help countries identify health threats earlier, improve the way resources are directed and support better decisions.
The call for a shared African system also comes as governments place greater value on health information and its control.
A recent analysis by the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace found that 22 African countries had signed bilateral health agreements with the US under the America First strategy within four months from late 2025.
The analysis said health data had become an important issue because governments were increasingly treating the information as a national asset.
For Kenya, the proposed hub would offer a way for African countries to work together on health information while setting their own rules on its use, access and protection.