Addis Ababa, January 27, 2026 – A new Central Data Repository (CDR) launched by the Africa Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (Africa CDC) aims to strengthen the way public health data is integrated, analyzed and used across the continent as health risks grow and become increasingly complex.
Although outbreak detection and reporting have improved, public health data in Africa remains fragmented and spread across multiple systems that are often not interoperable. This limits the ability of national and regional agencies to quickly integrate information, identify emerging risks, and translate data into timely and coordinated public health actions.
CDR addresses this challenge by providing a secure, interoperable platform that integrates surveillance, laboratory, and program data from national and regional systems. The platform will strengthen Africa CDC’s ability to track health threats, support advanced analytics and forecasting, and coordinate cross-border responses, including through the One Health approach.
Africa faces the greatest burden of public health emergencies globally. From 2022 to 2024, reported incidents jumped by 40%, reaching 213 across the continent. This has been driven by recurrent outbreaks of infectious diseases, climate change including floods and droughts, population movements, and a prolonged humanitarian crisis that continues to strain fragile health systems.
Work on CDR began over a year ago with a feasibility study and development of a functional prototype. The process culminated in a validation workshop held at Africa CDC Headquarters on November 17-18, 2025, where stakeholders approved the system design, cost analysis, operational plan, and prototype, and confirmed its technical and strategic readiness.
“A centralized repository will give Africa CDC a single, trusted foundation for public health information,” said Dr. Jean Kaseya, Africa CDC Executive Director. “This allows us to use consistent, high-quality data to detect risks earlier, act faster and coordinate responses across borders.”
Africa CDC partnered with the Global Fund, which directly funds the project, and commissioned the Global Health Task Force’s Public Health Informatics Institute (PHII) to conduct a needs assessment, cost analysis, operational planning, and prototype development.
Dr. Melawi Alagau, Director of Africa CDC’s Surveillance and Disease Intelligence Division, said the CDR represents an important step forward in strengthening public health information in Africa.
“Effective health security depends on who controls and uses data for timely decision-making,” he said. “CDR will strengthen Africa CDC’s ability to generate insights on the continent and detect and respond to public health emergencies, while ensuring member states retain ownership of their data through a federated model and make accurate, evidence-based decisions.”
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About Africa CDC
The African Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (Africa CDC) is the public health agency of the African Union. It is an autonomous organization that helps member countries strengthen their health systems. It also helps improve disease surveillance, emergency response, and disease management. For more information, please visit https://www.africacdc.org. You can also connect with us on LinkedIn, Twitter, Facebook, and YouTube.
