African Center for Disease Control modernizes public health intelligence through the use of Artificial Intelligence and data integration.
The Africa Centres for Disease Control and Prevention (Africa CDC) has unveiled a new initiative - the Africa Health Knowledge Management Portal. This digital platform is designed to improve health response efforts across Africa by centralizing health data and resources, enhancing coordination among stakeholders, and facilitating the rapid dissemination and uptake of critical knowledge.
At the heart of the portal is the aim to centralize health data and resources. It promises to improve access to standardized treatment guidelines, test results, symptom tracking, educational content, and appointment management, especially for diseases like HIV. Kenya's digital health portal programs serve as a prime example of this ambition.
The portal also seeks to enhance coordination among stakeholders, acting as a platform where governments, healthcare providers, and partners can collaborate, monitor, and evaluate health interventions. This is reminiscent of regional health security frameworks in Central Africa coordinated by Africa CDC.
One of the key benefits of the portal is its ability to facilitate rapid dissemination and uptake of knowledge critical for responding to health emergencies and improving routine health service delivery. Leveraging the readiness to adopt internet-based solutions among young people and healthcare workers, the portal aims to bridge the gap between the existence of knowledge and its application.
The Africa Health Knowledge Management Portal is expected to aid pandemic preparedness and response, enable evidence-based policymaking, and improve health outcomes by integrating knowledge management practices into public health strategies in Africa. By providing a centralized and accessible repository of critical health information and tools, the portal helps overcome fragmentation and boosts the efficiency and effectiveness of health response efforts continent-wide.
Member States will be able to host their own portals or connect directly to the continental system. The initiative is supported by the Rockefeller Foundation and the Mastercard Foundation. The portal integrates AI-powered tools for multilingual translation, intelligent search, real-time document comparison, and a chatbot for user queries.
Dr Nebiyu Dereje, Head of Division, Knowledge Management and Editor-in-Chief of the Journal of Public Health in Africa (JPHIA), emphasized the importance of the initiative. Dr Mosoka Papa Fallah, Acting Director of Science and Innovation at Africa CDC, stated that the knowledge exists, the challenge has always been access, translation, and application, and with this initiative, they are bridging that gap.
The portal will facilitate access to critical public health information for various stakeholders, including national policymakers and frontline health workers. Africa CDC also intends to train national knowledge managers and promote a culture of real-time learning through Knowledge Hours, Knowledge Cafés, and Communities of Practice.
Users of the portal will benefit from personalized content and a mobile-friendly interface. The Africa Health Knowledge Management Portal is a multi-tiered platform spanning the continental, regional, and Member State levels. It will be hosted by Africa CDC and its five Regional Coordinating Centres.
The Africa Health Knowledge Management Portal is part of Africa CDC's efforts to anchor a new era of digital resilience and collaborative action across the continent. For more information and a prototype of the portal, visit khub.africacdc.org.
The Africa Health Knowledge Management Portal incorporates AI-powered tools and a mobile-friendly interface, aiming to bridge the gap between the existence of critical health knowledge and its application, particularly in medical-conditions management. By centralizing health data and resources, the portal seeks to improve health-and-wellness outcomes and facilitate coordination among governments, healthcare providers, and partners in health-response efforts, including those related to science and technology.
