Nairobi, Kenya, 10 November 2026 (ECA) – The United Nations Economic Commission for Africa (ECA) has called on African governments to treat health information systems as essential public infrastructure, warning that incomplete birth registration, mortality data and health statistics undermine effective healthcare planning, financing and delivery.
Speaking at the opening of the First Africa Health Data Forum in Nairobi, ECA Chief of Staff Aboubakri Diaw, representing Executive Secretary Claver Gatete, stressed that reliable health data are fundamental to sound economic planning and the efficient allocation of public resources.
“A child who is not counted is a child who is not planned for. A death that is not explained is money spent without learning,” he said.
Using the fictional story of Tumaini, a newborn girl in Nairobi whose birth is registered and whose needs can therefore be reflected in public planning, Mr Diaw highlighted the consequences for millions of Africans who remain invisible to national health information systems.
Africa spends approximately US$145 billion annually on health, yet decisions on healthcare workers, vaccines and public investment often rely on incomplete or outdated population and mortality data.
“When the denominator is an estimate, the budget is partly fiction,” he warned.
Mr Diaw also raised concerns about the sustainability of health information systems, noting that fewer than one in five African countries finances these systems through domestic budgets. With external health financing declining, he stressed the urgency of reducing dependence on donor-funded data systems.
Building on the Tangier Declaration on Sustainable Health Financing, ECA is working to integrate health information systems, civil registration and statistics into finance–health compacts with African countries, ensuring they are treated as permanent public infrastructure rather than short-term projects.
He also welcomed African-led efforts to strengthen health data governance, including initiatives by Africa CDC, WHO and the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA), and reaffirmed ECA's commitment to connecting these efforts with national finance, statistical and digital systems.
Held from 10 to 12 November under the theme “Better Data, Better Health for All,” the First Africa Health Data Forum brings together governments, WHO, regional institutions and development partners to identify priorities for strengthening health information systems. The meeting is expected to culminate in the Nairobi Agenda on Health Information Systems.
Looking ahead, Mr Diaw pledged that ECA would help advance the Forum's outcomes through its Conference of Ministers of Finance, the Statistical Commission for Africa and Africa's civil registration institutions.
“Let us leave Nairobi determined that the next one will not need luck,” he concluded, returning to the story of Tumaini and the importance of ensuring every child is counted.
Issued by:
Communications Section
Economic Commission for Africa
PO Box 3001
Addis Ababa
Ethiopia
Tel: +251 11 551 5826
E-mail: eca-info@un.org
