Member States’ Statement on the Primary Health Care Digitalization Framework

We, the representatives of African Union Member States, technical institutions, and partners, convened in Addis Ababa for the Validation Workshop of the Africa CDC Primary Health Care (PHC) Digitalization Framework, held under the leadership of the Africa Centres for Disease Control and Prevention (Africa CDC) and in collaboration with the African Union Commission, development partners and technical experts.

RECALLING the commitment of African Union Member States to strengthen resilient, equitable and sovereign health systems capable of delivering quality primary health care services to all citizens in alignment with national priorities;

RECALLING FURTHER the continental commitments under Agenda 2063, the Africa Health Security and Sovereignty (AHSS) Agenda, the Lusaka Agenda, the African Union Data Policy Framework, and the Africa CDC’s Digital Health Transformation Strategy, which collectively underscore the importance of strengthening national health intelligence systems and digital transformation for sustainable health development;

RECOGNIZING that Primary Health Care (PHC) constitutes the foundation of African health systems and the primary interface between communities and national health systems, and that digitally-enabled PHC systems are essential to improving service delivery, strengthening diseases surveillance and early warning systems, advancing Universal Health Coverage and the Health Security across the continent;

ACKNOWLEDGING the leadership of Africa CDC in developing the PHC Digitalization Framework, which provides a continental blueprint for Member States in building interoperable, resilient, and sovereign digital health systems;

NOTING WITH APPRECIATION the inclusive and consultative process undertaken during the validation workshop, including technical presentations, breakout deliberations, and plenary consultations that enabled Member States and partners to review the framework’s architecture, pillars, and implementation pathways;

EMPHASIZING the importance of strengthening governance, integrated health service delivery, end-to-end quality patient care across interlinked care pathways and referral points, digital public infrastructure, workforce capacity, sustainable financing, interoperability standards, and sovereign data stewardship as critical enablers of PHC digital transformation;

HEREBY:

ENDORSE the strategic directions and overall architecture of the Africa CDC’s PHC Digitalization Framework as an important continental instrument to support the digital transformation of PHC systems across African Union Member States.

REAFFIRM the commitment of Member States to strengthen digitally enabled PHC systems as a key pillar for improving health outcomes, enhancing health intelligence, and strengthening epidemic preparedness and response across the continent.

ENCOURAGE Member States to progressively align national digital health strategies, policies, and investments with the principles and guidance outlined in the framework, taking into account national contexts, priorities, and levels of digital maturity.

REQUEST Africa CDC, in collaboration with the African Union Commission, Member States, and partners, to incorporate the recommendations emerging from this validation workshop and finalize the PHC Digitalization Framework for broader dissemination and implementation.

FURTHER REQUEST Africa CDC to continue supporting Member States through technical guidance, peer learning platforms, and coordinated partnerships to accelerate the digital transformation of PHC systems across the continent.

CALL UPON Africa CDC to institute the PHC Directors Forum and the Digital Health Directors Forum as continental coordination platforms to strengthen alignment, accountability, and monitoring of the PHC Digitalization Framework; and to convene an annual in-person meeting of PHC and Digital Health Directors to review the status of PHC digitalization in Africa, and use country assessment evidence to inform reforms towards the continental target of 90% digitally enabled PHC systems by 2035.

CALL UPON development partners, regional economic communities, the private sector, and technical institutions to align their support with the priorities and standards outlined in the framework, in order to promote coherence, sustainability, and country ownership of digital health investments.

RECOGNIZE the importance of strengthening collaboration between Member States, Africa CDC, and partners to build a federated continental health intelligence ecosystem led by Africa CDC and capable of supporting evidence-based decisionmaking, improved service delivery, and collective health security in Africa.

Adopted in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia.

12th March 2026, during the Validation Workshop on the Africa CDC Primary Health Care Digitalization Framework