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annually on health, yet decisions on healthcare workers, vaccines and public investment often rely on incomplete or outdated population and mortality data.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.
