The World Health Organization (WHO) has commended Nigeria for using health and vaccination data to identify children who missed routine immunisation, describing quality health data as critical to detecting emerging threats and saving lives.
The commendation was contained in a new WHO report highlighting persistent gaps in health information systems across Africa. It cited Bauchi State, where health authorities combined vaccination records with community-level information to identify children who had missed routine vaccinations and target them for intervention.
“When we do not know why people are dying, which children are missing essential services or where communities face the greatest health risks, we may overlook the very people who need our attention most,” Dr Mohamed Janabi, WHO Regional Director for Africa, said.
The report was unveiled at the First African Health Data Forum, which opened in Nairobi, Kenya, on Tuesday and brought together health ministers, senior government officials and other stakeholders.
Of the 40 countries assessed, only 19 reported that authorities were notified of at least eight in 10 deaths, while 21 recorded the cause of death for at least eight in 10 registered deaths.
The report also found significant weaknesses in the analysis and quality assurance of health data. Only 43 per cent of countries have sufficient capacity to analyse health data at clinic and hospital levels, while just one in four can assess the quality of data at those levels.
Governance and funding remain major challenges, with only 18 per cent of countries reporting a dedicated budget for health information systems. Other gaps include weak coordination, inadequate routine data-quality checks and shortages of trained personnel.
Despite the challenges, WHO said African countries were making progress in digitising health information systems. Forty-three of the 47 countries in the WHO African Region have adopted digital platforms for collecting and reporting routine health information.
The forum, which runs until Thursday, will review the report’s findings and explore ways to strengthen health information systems through digital health, artificial intelligence (AI) and other innovations.
Dr Hillary Kipruto, a WHO technical officer, said AI was already transforming healthcare, particularly diagnostics and data analysis.
“The power for diagnostics has leapfrogged,” he said, noting that analysis that previously took months could now be completed and a report generated with a click of a button.
Kipruto, however, stressed the need for safeguards to ensure responsible use of AI.
“We cannot run away from it, but we have to make sure that there are enabling legislation and frameworks which allow us to responsibly use AI,” he said.
