WHO Unveils Regional Health Data Hub to Transform Healthcare Decisions in Africa

ADDIS ABABA, Ethiopia — The World Health Organization (WHO) Regional Office for Africa has launched a new Regional Health Data Hub aimed at improving health planning and decision-making across the continent.

The digital platform, launched on August 27, 2026, brings together health information from different systems and transforms it into integrated, actionable data for governments and health stakeholders across the WHO African Region.

The initiative is expected to help countries respond more effectively to disease outbreaks, improve maternal and child health services, plan their health workforce and strengthen health systems.

WHO said fragmented health data has often made it difficult for governments to obtain a complete and timely picture of population health.

The new hub seeks to address this challenge by integrating information from programmes covering maternal, newborn, child and adolescent health, infectious diseases, noncommunicable diseases and health systems.

Through interactive dashboards, maps and analytical tools, users will be able to monitor health trends, compare progress and generate evidence to support more informed decisions.

The platform will serve all 47 Member States in the WHO African Region and will be accessible to governments, public health institutions, researchers, development partners and other stakeholders.

WHO Regional Director for Africa, Dr Mohamed Yakub Janabi, said health policies and investments should be guided by reliable evidence.

“No health decision in our region should be taken in the dark,” Dr Janabi said, stressing the importance of timely and reliable information in directing resources to where they are most needed.

The hub will complement, rather than replace, existing national health information systems. Countries will retain ownership of their data while benefiting from common standards designed to improve interoperability, data quality and secure information sharing.

WHO is also developing a regional governance framework to promote transparency, accountability and responsible management of health information.

The platform incorporates advanced analytics and artificial intelligence-enabled capabilities to support forecasting, trend analysis and evidence generation.

According to WHO,the hub will be expanded in phases, with additional datasets, indicators and analytical tools expected to be introduced over time.

The organisation said the initiative is ultimately intended to help countries turn health data into evidence, evidence into action and action into improved health outcomes for millions of people across Africa.