A stand-alone healthcare data policy in EA should be a priority
Hacking is rampant across the world.
What you need to know:
- The rapid adoption of digital tools and technology within the health sector has highlighted the urgent need for effective regulation of how health data is collected, stored, managed and disposed of, and the limitations on how such information can be processed and used.
- Attention must be shifted towards healthcare data security and policies that protect the public by defining how healthcare data is acquired and the purposes for which it is utilised.
Although several countries have implemented cyber security laws, the growing sophistication of cybercriminals continues to compromise governments, organisations and individuals. This is according to the World Economic Forum Global Risk Report released in 2022.
The challenges posed by digitalisation, such as cyber insecurity, have also affected healthcare systems. The critical question that remains unanswered is how secure health data and information of patients in Africa truly are.
The rapid adoption of digital tools and technology within the health sector has highlighted the urgent need for effective regulation of how health data is collected, stored, managed and disposed of, and the limitations on how such information can be processed and used. Attention must be shifted towards healthcare data security and policies that protect the public by defining how healthcare data is acquired and the purposes for which it is utilised.
Earlier this year, Transform Health launched the My Data Our Health, a global campaign led by community-based organisations, to raise awareness around health data governance and protection.
The aim is to evaluate how health data is collected, stored, and used and how a patient can have access to their data at their healthcare facility when needed. The campaign seeks to generate interest in creating independent policies and frameworks for health data, which can serve as a guide for conversations on various stakeholder platforms. The goal is to integrate a patient data privacy system in rural and urban settings to ensure that healthcare in Africa is an achieved system in a fast-evolving digital ecosystem. However, the missing component in achieving this objective is a harmonious, specific framework for data protection laws, despite the varying laws in different countries across the continent. Such a framework is crucial to promote and manage the health and well-being of individuals.
Although several policies and legal frameworks exist around data, they are scattered and difficult to trace. It is difficult to determine whether a comprehensive stand-alone framework or policy that addresses health data in its entirety exists in the East African Community (EAC). This is why Transform Health has started a public debate around health data across the globe. Transform Health is a global coalition of organisations, individuals, and institutions that advocate for the equitable digital transformation of health systems - to achieve health for all.
Given the complex nature of healthcare data, it is important to institute a legal framework that protects the privacy of patients’ records. Also, patients should be able to access their data when and whenever they require it.
Through the ‘My Data Our Health’ global campaign, stakeholders in Tanzania have started a public conversation to address questions about personal healthcare data. The goal is to get the public sector to address the need to have not only a regional health data policy but also ensure that EAC member states have in-country policies too. This campaign in Tanzania and across EAC is being championed by the Eastern Africa National Networks of AIDS and Health Service Organizations (EANNASO) and other partners in the country.
The partners are urging governments of various countries worldwide to pass and adopt a resolution that facilitates the implementation of a global healthcare data governance framework. This framework will establish specific global standards for the acquisition and use of healthcare data protection. The timing of this appeal is critical, given that the digital health week is fast approaching from November 6-12. As EANNASO we are appealing to the East African Community to have a stand-alone health data governance framework in place to safeguard our health data.
This has seen the EANNASO, and other partners such as the First Girls Initiative, Imara, OMUKA HUB, Tanzania Network of Women Living with HIV and AIDS, and Agri Thamani Foundation circulate a press release calling out for a stand-alone health data policy and framework to maximize the value of health data in Africa.
“Having a stand-alone health data policy will ensure that national, regional, and global healthcare data resolution guidelines are developed through an all-inclusive multi-stakeholder process that involves input from civil society, youth, women, and marginalized communities.” Said Mr. Onesmus Kalama- Acting Executive Director of EANNASO. “This is why the MyDataOurHealth campaign is crucial and is being implemented at an ideal time just before the World Health Assembly in Geneva later this month”. He concluded during an interview.
