Africa’s public health leadership has issued a strong political call for accelerated digital transformation of primary health care (PHC), warning that rising disease threats and shrinking external funding demand urgent, sovereign solutions.
At a meeting held on November 26–27, 2025, at its headquarters in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, the Africa Centres for Disease Control and Prevention (Africa CDC) convened the Primary Health Care Digitalization Experts Committee (PHC-DEC) to kick-start the development of a continental framework for fully digitalizing Africa’s PHC systems. The outcome statement from the meeting has been submitted to the Africa CDC leadership and issued as a call to African Union Heads of State and Government, as well as development partners.
The committee described Africa as standing at a “defining moment,” citing a sharp rise in disease outbreaks of more than 41 per cent between 2022 and 2024, alongside a nearly 70 per cent decline in overseas development assistance since 2021. Despite growing health security risks, the continent still imports over 90 per cent of essential health commodities, while only about 30 per cent of health systems are currently digitalized.
According to the experts, this widening gap between rising health threats and declining external financing underscores the need for Africa to build resilient, domestically financed, and digitally enabled health systems that strengthen preparedness, accountability, and national sovereignty.
Primary health care, which can address over 80 per cent of health needs, was identified as both the backbone of the health system and one of its most underfunded and least digitalized components. Evidence from the World Health Organization and the World Bank shows that digitalized PHC systems can detect outbreaks 7 to 21 days earlier, reduce diagnostic delays by up to 50 per cent, and deliver economic returns of between six and ten dollars for every dollar invested through lower mortality, reduced treatment costs, and improved efficiency.
The committee noted that digital transformation would not only improve access to quality health services but also strengthen national security and fiscal sustainability, aligning with Africa CDC’s Africa Health Security and Sovereignty (AHSS) Agenda, the Lusaka Agenda’s five shifts, and the African Union’s Agenda 2063.
Beyond health outcomes, the experts highlighted the economic potential of PHC digitalization, estimating an annual market of at least 40 billion dollars for electronic medical records alone. They described this as a major opportunity for African innovation, local manufacturing, and digital sovereignty.
Several countries were cited as evidence that large-scale PHC digitalization is achievable. Rwanda, which has digitized more than 90 per cent of its PHC system, has recorded faster outbreak alerts and significant reductions in maternal and newborn deaths. Similar progress has been reported in Egypt, Tunisia, Morocco, Kenya, Ethiopia, Ghana, South Africa, Burkina Faso, Niger, and Côte d’Ivoire, where digital platforms have strengthened links between communities, health facilities, and national surveillance systems.
The committee stressed, however, that digital transformation must be trusted and socially accepted to succeed. It called for structured communication and community engagement to ensure patients understand digital tools and are confident about the confidentiality and responsible use of their health data.
In its recommendations, the PHC-DEC urged African Union Heads of State and Government to commit to digitalizing at least 90 per cent of Africa’s primary health care systems by 2035, including community-based services and those in fragile and conflict-affected settings. The experts also called for continent-wide minimum digital health standards to guarantee interoperability, equity, and data sovereignty.
They further advocated designating “Digital Health Transformation for Africa” as the African Union Theme of the Year for 2027 to mobilize political will and financing, and proposed the creation of high-level presidential task forces on PHC transformation to drive whole-of-government coordination and accountability.
The statement, endorsed by members of the Africa CDC Primary Health Care Digitalization Experts Committee on November 27, 2025, positions PHC digitalization as a strategic investment essential to Africa’s health security, development goals, and future resilience.
Share this
