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Kenya, November 10, 2026 - Kenya will establish a National Intelligence and Analytics Centre to improve how the country collects and uses health data.
Health Cabinet Secretary Aden Duale announced the plan during the opening of the first Africa Health Data Forum in Nairobi.
The centre will operate under the Digital Health Agency.
It is expected to strengthen disease surveillance, monitor health systems and guide decisions on healthcare funding and service delivery.
Duale said Kenya needs one connected health information system, not separate systems that do not speak to each other.
He said fragmented data leads to duplication, poor planning and weak accountability.
The announcement came as the World Health Organization released a report showing that many African countries still struggle to turn health data into useful decisions.
The report found an overall health information system maturity score of 59 out of 100 across 40 countries assessed in 2024.
It also found a gap between collecting health information and using it to improve healthcare.
Only 18 percent of African countries have dedicated domestic funding for health information systems.
Duale said Kenya has made progress through the Data Protection Act 2019, the Digital Health Act 2023 and the Digital Health Regulations 2025.
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More than 33 million Kenyans have registered with the Social Health Authority through the Afya Yangu platform.
The government is also using a track-and-trace system to monitor medical supplies and fight counterfeit medicines.
Platform 360 is being used to manage health workers and strengthen professional oversight.
WHO Regional Director for Africa Yakub Janabi praised Kenya’s use of health data during the Bundibugyo Ebola virus disease response.
He said timely surveillance helped Kenya trace 135 contacts linked to an imported case.
Kenya has since recorded three consecutive weeks without a new confirmed case.
The three-day forum has brought together African governments, WHO, Africa CDC, UN agencies, financiers and health experts.
Its main task is to help countries build health data systems that are accurate, connected and useful.
For Kenya, the next test will be turning the proposed data centre into a working institution with funding, staff and strong privacy safeguards.