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Panel
titleMay 15, 2025

Review the recording here: https://iu.mediaspace.kaltura.com/media/t/1_92g67qrw

🧭 Meeting Summary

The conversation centered around ongoing challenges and adaptations in digital health across several African countries due to funding cuts, particularly from USAID, and the need for sustainability and government support. Participants from Uganda, Malawi, South Sudan, and Somalia shared similar experiences, highlighting efforts to manage transitions, address data fragmentation, and promote interoperability. The group discussed the importance of country leadership, collaboration, and knowledge-sharing through initiatives like the Country Profiles and upcoming in-person engagement at the HELINA Conference in Botswana. Emphasis was placed on engaging the private sector and exploring sustainable financing models for digital health, with a commitment to continue these discussions in future meetings.

🧭 Meeting Overview

Context: Participants from various African countries shared updates on their digital health systems amidst funding uncertainties, particularly following reductions from partners like USAID. The meeting was part of the ongoing African eHealth Leadership Forum supported by HELINA.

Tone: Collaborative, reflective, and solutions-oriented, with a sense of urgency around sustainability and system resilience.

Purpose: To share country-level experiences, highlight common challenges, promote collaboration, and prepare for upcoming engagements including the HELINA Conference.

🧠 Themes & Insights

  • Funding & Sustainability Challenges: Countries like Uganda, Malawi, South Sudan, and Somalia are grappling with funding cutbacks and are exploring ways to sustain digital health efforts.

  • Government & Partner Engagement: Stronger advocacy to central governments is needed to ensure continuity, especially as partner support wanes.

  • Interoperability & Data Systems: Fragmented systems and lack of interoperability remain key obstacles, with efforts underway (e.g., Somalia’s health information unit).

  • Country Profiles as Knowledge Tools: Participants value the Country Profiles as a platform for sharing and learning from each other’s digital health journeys.

  • Importance of Leadership Forums: The forum is seen as a vital space for mutual support, knowledge exchange, and coordinated progress across countries.

💬 Proposed Actions

  • Share country-specific experiences and contribute to Country Profiles.

  • Include discussions on private sector engagement and financing models in future meetings.

  • Continue coordination and knowledge-sharing through the forum and upcoming events.

✅ Emerging Action Items

  • 📝 Finalize and share formal invitations for the HELINA Conference (August 26–29) to support internal travel approvals.

  • 📲 Share event updates in the WhatsApp group once details are confirmed.

  • 🌍 Encourage countries to begin drafting their Country Profiles, using examples like Rwanda’s.

  • 🗓 Plan for future meeting topics: private sector engagement and sustainable financing for digital health systems.


Panel
titleJune 26, 202530, 2025

Carol Kamasaka from HELINA will be guiding and facilitating the Africa eHealth Leadership Forum (EHLF), with support from Paul. Their aim is to help members advance their goals and aspirations. The team has already identified approximately 60% of Africa’s eHealth leaders and is working with regional partners to identify the remainder.

Initial work has begun on drafting Country HIE Profile pages to document each country’s digital health efforts and resources (link here). A face-to-face EHLF meeting is being planned as a pre-event to the HELINA 2025 Conference, which will take place in Botswana in August 2025 (conference site).

Key discussion topics for the event include:

  • Sustaining digital health efforts amid changes in donor aid.

  • Learning from countries who have succeeded without external funding.

  • Defining what it means to be a digital/eHealth leader.

  • Addressing governance structures and challenges across countries.

  • Developing national digital health policy and regulatory frameworks.

  • Exploring how OpenHIE unites stakeholders across the continent.

  • Ensuring harmonization as other regional momentum sees other ehealth leaders forums being formed

As an action, Carol and Paul will draft a “strawman” definition of digital health and eHealth leadership to spark dialogue at the event. They will also make updates to the agenda for the event given suggestions today. Countries will be encouraged to share governance structures, policy approaches, and ideas for a common implementation checklist.

As requested by this group and others a slide deck has been prepared by the secretariat to support advocacy for digital health leaders, will be shared with members. Invitations to the EHLF face-to-face event will be sent soon, and interested participants should reach out to Carolyn Kamasaka at programsdirector@helina.africa. 


Panel
titleJuly 17, 2025



Panel
title August 21, 2025

 

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