Decolonization of Global Health Takes Center Stage as Africa Pushes for Digital Sovereignty at AHDARS 2025
Posted by EDITORIAL
AHDARS 2025 convenes Africa’s leading voices to push forward the decolonization of global health, spotlighting digital transformation, equitable partnerships, and African-led research reforms.
Nairobi Kenya
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IN SUMMARY:
The 2025 Africa Health and Development Annual Research Symposium opened in Nairobi with a clear message: Africa is done being a passive participant in global health. Organized by the African Population and Health Research Center (APHRC) in partnership with the Science for Africa Foundation (SFA Foundation), GSMA, and the East, Central and Southern Africa Health Community (ECSA-HC), the gathering drew experts from across the continent and beyond—united by a shared purpose to rethink partnerships, financing models, and digital governance in ways that reflect African priorities and leadership.
Dr. Catherine Kyobutungi, Executive Director of APHRC, set the tone by urging participants to confront structural inequalities that have defined global health for decades.
“We are proud to join, facilitate, and participate in conversations that confront uncomfortable truths because that’s how real transformation begins,” she said.
Calling the moment “critical,” she reminded the audience that Africa must move “from talk to action” to build a just and equitable future. She noted that digital transformation, when rooted in justice, has the power to bridge historical divides rather than widen them.
That message resonated strongly with keynote speaker Dr. Seye Abimbola, a leading scholar on epistemic justice. He warned that global health continues to be shaped by entrenched hierarchies that distort how knowledge is valued and whose expertise is trusted.
“Every actor, at every level, must see themselves as part of the broader decolonization agenda within the knowledge ecosystem,” he said.
He challenged African institutions to resist imitating external models of “thriving ecosystems” without first interrogating why those systems succeed—and what must change for Africa to produce its own meaningful success.
The role of financing and governance formed another cornerstone of the symposium. Dr. Evelyn Gitau, Chief Scientific Officer at the SFA Foundation, highlighted persistent funding misalignments that weaken Africa’s research sovereignty.
“Africa’s strength is evident in the solutions we continue to build for our own research and health systems,” she said.
Referring to the recently launched Good Research Management Practice Standard, she emphasized that the continent is actively setting its own benchmarks for accountability and quality.
“We are not passive recipients; we are active contributors shaping the continent’s health and development future.”
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Digital transformation—long touted as Africa’s biggest opportunity—received renewed attention through GSMA’s collaboration with APHRC. Announcing the new GSMA-APHRC Enabling Digital Health in Africa report, GSMA Head of Africa Angela Wamola framed digital health as a tool for sovereignty, not dependency.
“Africa’s digital transformation is not just about technology – it’s about equity, inclusion, and African leadership,” she said.
The report’s findings align with trends highlighted at recent global forums, including the Africa CDC’s digital health blueprint and UN discussions on AI governance, all pointing to Africa’s growing insistence on shaping digital systems that reflect local needs and values.
ECSA-HC’s Sebentile Myeni reinforced the call for African ownership of solutions, challenging the pervasive mindset that expertise must always come from outside the continent. “Dependency syndrome convinces us that help will always come from elsewhere, yet the solutions are already within our people,” she said.
She emphasized that research only achieves real impact when communities, policymakers, scientists, and funders share decision-making power—a sentiment aligned with ongoing debates at the WHO African Regional Committee meetings on community-centered health governance.
Across sessions spanning digital health governance, AI applications, equitable financing, data justice, and continental research architecture, the symposium echoed conversations from recent regional gatherings, including the Africa Climate Summit’s focus on tech-enabled resilience and AGRA’s calls for homegrown research ecosystems. AHDARS 2025 added a distinct urgency to these regional efforts: to build structures that protect Africa from repeating historical patterns of dependency, even as the continent accelerates into a digital future.
As the two-day symposium unfolds, its significance stretches beyond scholarly debate. It marks a broader reckoning with how Africa will shape global health in the coming decade—on its own terms, with its own priorities, and through partnerships that respect its agency. While the dialogue has begun, participants emphasized that its impact will be determined by reforms, legal frameworks, financing models, and collaborations forged in the aftermath of the meeting. The continent’s message is clear: it is ready to chart a path toward a fair, tech-driven global health future and to power Africa’s health systems with African leadership at the helm.
