Kigali hosts first regional inter-parliamentary forum on digital health, data governance

The first East African Community (EAC) Annual Inter-parliamentary Forum on Sexual Reproductive Health (SRH) or Reproductive, Maternal, Newborn, Child and Adolescent Health (RMNCAH) started on Saturday, November 18, in Kigali. The two-day meeting seeks to deliberate on EAC Regional and Continental Health Data Governance initiatives and Digital Health agenda, and how to leverage digital data for universal healthcare. It was convened by the EAC Secretariat in conjunction with the East African Legislative Assembly (EALA). ALSO READ: EAC reproductive health bill faces resistance over abortion clauses Participants in the forum include officials from the EAC Secretariat, and EALA legislators, representatives from the Pan African Health Informatics Association (HELINA), among other relevant entities. Expected outcomes include a mission report outlining the thematic areas including a consensus on EAC regional and an African common position on health data governance, aligning with different laws and regulations at regional and national levels. Others are the minimum set of regulatory components that should not be missed to ensure effective and equitable governance of health data at EAC regional level and the continental level and advocating for increased funding for digital health as the pathway to achieving universal health coverage (UHC) and sustaining the digital health initiatives made. ALSO READ: EAC needs new tech to tackle emerging diseases – Health Minister The EAC Secretariat is implementing different digital health interventions in order to contribute towards the elimination of preventable deaths and the improvement of well-being among citizens of the EAC through digitization of clinical and public health processes. The Secretariat is executing the EAC Integrated Health Programme (EIHP) that was approved by the 35th Ordinary Meeting of the EAC Council of Ministers in April 2017. The goal of EIHP is to contribute towards the elimination of preventable maternal, new-born and child deaths, AIDS and improvement of wellbeing among women, children, adolescents and families in the Community. Its key objective is to “strengthen SRHR/RMNCAH and HIV and AIDS research, innovations and knowledge management in the EAC”. On health data governance and digitisation agenda, the Secretariat pointed out that Africa's health systems are undergoing a digital revolution, resulting in a surge of health and health-related data. This surge holds transformative potential for African nations, offering opportunities to enhance healthcare, respond effectively to health emergencies, and make significant progress towards achieving universal health coverage (UHC), Agenda 2063, and the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), it added. To fully realise the benefits of this digital transformation, the Secretariat indicated that it is essential to establish robust and effective governance frameworks for health data. This includes managing risks, safeguarding individual rights, and ensuring responsible data usage to foster public trust in health data systems. As noted, to address the complex and diverse regulatory landscape across countries, it is crucial for African nations to come together and develop a unified approach.

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Kigali hosts first regional inter-parliamentary forum on digital health, data governance