The Africa Centres for Disease Control and Prevention (Africa CDC) has developed a continental framework to turn community voices, behavioral data, and information trends into actionable public health measures.
The initiative is being implemented in collaboration with African Union (AU) Member States, regional institutions, and technical partners.
This was announced in a statement issued to reporters on Monday in Abuja.
The framework, called Behavioural Intelligence and Infodemic Management (BIIM), aims to enhance how behavioral, social, community, and information-environment evidence inform public health decisions across Africa.
The development followed a five-day workshop in Mombasa, Kenya, from August 30 to September 3, where experts from Burundi, Ghana, Kenya, Mauritania, Sierra Leone, and Zimbabwe reviewed and validated key components of the BIIM package.
The package includes the BIIM Framework, Strategy, Digital and Data Architecture, and Roadmap for institutionalization and implementation.
The statement explained that BIIM would enable countries to integrate behavioral and social data, community feedback, social listening, information-environment signals, service delivery, program data, and rapid research into decision-ready intelligence.
It clarified that the initiative is not meant to create another database or parallel reporting system but to connect and strengthen existing national capabilities while establishing common continental standards.
Ms. Mary Muriuki, Principal Secretary of Kenya’s Ministry of Health, stated that BIIM would strengthen existing systems rather than create parallel structures.
“BIIM is not another platform or system. It enhances and connects current national capabilities,” she said.
Muriuki also agreed to champion BIIM across Africa to bolster member-state leadership and political engagement in its institutionalization.
According to the statement, the framework will guide information flow from signals to intelligence, decision-making, and action.
“A community concern, rumor, survey finding, service-delivery issue, or social-media trend could serve as a signal. The information will then be verified, triangulated with other evidence, interpreted, and prioritized before being translated into recommendations for decision-makers.”
The approach could support public health priorities such as emergency preparedness, immunization, primary healthcare, community trust, and health service uptake.
Dr. Lul Pout Riek, Special Representative of the Director General for the Eastern Africa Regional Coordinating Centre at Africa CDC, emphasized that institutionalization would be the true test of the initiative.
“The technical architecture is crucial, but institutionalization is the real challenge,” he said.
Riek noted that behavioral intelligence must become a routine part of how public health institutions understand risks, make decisions, and act.
Dr. Priscilla Madzinga-Kusena, Head of Social and Behavior Change and Advocacy at Africa CDC, highlighted that Africa has ample data and signals but struggles to connect fragmented evidence to decision-making and action.
“The gap is our ability to systematically link evidence to decisions and responses,” she said.
She added that the ultimate test is whether intelligence reaches the right decision-makers, triggers action, and generates lessons.
The statement clarified that the continental approach would not require countries to adopt identical systems.
“Member states will determine their institutional home, governance, data stewardship, and implementation model for their national BIIM capabilities, while Africa CDC will provide standards, technical guidance, coordination, and quality assurance,” it said.
Mr. Patrick Lansana, Vice President of the ECOWAS RCCE Network, welcomed the framework as a step toward a harmonized intelligence-to-action approach across Africa.
“Regional coordination will strengthen country-led BIIM systems, improve cross-border intelligence, and help prevent duplication,” he said.
The Mombasa workshop marks a transition from framework development to institutionalization and implementation.
The proposed roadmap will assist countries in establishing minimum capabilities, applying BIIM to priority health issues, and gradually integrating behavioral intelligence into routine national health systems.
