Reflections from the ‘Latvia and Countries in Africa Forum on Advancing Resilience and Development through Digital Solutions’
Nnenna Nwakanma, Senior Advisor, Transform Health
Photo credit: Laura Celmiņa, Latvia Ministry of Foreign Affairs
Over one hundred high-level representatives from Africa and Latvia joined forces to seek tangible and sustainable solutions for “Advancing Resilience and Development through digital solutions” at the second edition of the Latvia and Countries in Africa Forum, organised by the Latvia Ministry of Foreign Affairs. Participants included representatives from the development cooperation, diplomats, academia, civil society, industry, and research communities – a truly multistakeholder engagement. It concluded with the signing of a memorandum of understanding between the Latvian and Ugandan Foreign Ministries to establish regular consultations on bilateral cooperation and international issues.
Health data governance at the forefront of discussions
The Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Republic of Latvia sought expertise from Transform Health and Africa CDC – co-chairs Africa CDC’s Health Data Governance Flagship Initiative, together with HELINA – to bring in perspectives and share ongoing processes in the continent on digital health, health innovation, cooperation and health data governance. The discussion also brought in industry perspectives, with Emīls Sjundjukovs, Chief Executive Officer of Latvian digital health startup Longenesis, expressing the difficulties that the technology industry faces in dealing with multiple regulatory instruments in different countries – in Europe, as well as in other places, like Africa – due to the lack of harmonised governance frameworks.
Building resilience in digital health in the era of artificial intelligence requires trust, data security and also data access for innovation. While the panel agreed that much work is needed to ensure responsible and ethical digital solutions and data use, it recognised existing efforts like the EU GDRP, the African Union Data Policy Framework, the health data governance principles and Model Law, and increased digital dialogues in the health ecosystem, as positive steps forward.
Why does health data governance matter for Africa’s digital health cooperation?
Robust health data governance must be prioritised as part of digital health cooperation, with and across the continent, to:
- Build trust among stakeholders by establishing clear, transparent rules for how data is collected, shared, stored, and used, while safeguarding against misuse, exploitation, and breaches of sovereignty.
- Streamline data sharing and interoperability by harmonising data standards, privacy rules, and ethical guidelines to support regional surveillance, research collaboration, and coordinated responses to health emergencies.
- Protect rights and promote equity by prioritising human rights, inclusion, and community engagement to ensure that digital health benefits all populations across Africa.
- Ensure data sovereignty by ensuring that data from Africa and Africans is not extracted without consent or benefit to the source countries and communities, thereby protecting and promoting national interests and ensuring fair partnerships.
- Align policies with national and regional goals by supporting legal and institutional reforms that align with and advance theAfrican Union’s agenda 2063, including around digital public goods, health information exchange, and responsible AI in health.
- Support local innovation, research and value creation by setting transparent, equitable health data governance that fosters a stable environment for innovation and for startups, health tech companies, and researchers to invest in solutions that can be scaled regionally.
- Strengthen preparedness for future health threats by enabling rapid, lawful, and rights-respecting data sharing for cross-border preparedness, resilience and response.
Towards regional collaboration and commitment on health data governance
Ensuring robust digital Health and health data governance requires commitment and action from governments. However, this should also be supported by partners, including regional bodies, technical partners, as well as local technology and health industries for sustainability. Africa CDC and Transform Health are supporting efforts towards the development of a regional health data governance framework, a priority of the Africa CDC Flagship Initiative on Health Data Governance.
Discussions during the African HealthTech Summit in October 2024, and more recently during a Regional Roundtable co-hosted by Africa CDC, Transform Health and HELINA on the sidelines of the AU Summit in February 2025, saw discussions and momentum around a regional framework advance, including a Continental Declaration to initiate a formal process for its development. Several opportunities over the coming year present key touch points to advance these discussions, while ensuring these discussions turn into concrete actions. Among others, the Africa Health ExCon in Cairo in June, the AU 7th Coordination Meeting in Malabo, the Transform Africa Summit in Kigali, both in July, the WHO Africa committee in August and the Africa Health Tech Summit in Kigali in October.
Photo credit: Laura Celmiņa, Latvia Ministry of Foreign Affairs