Kenya is taking a critical step toward a secure, resilient, and interoperable digital health ecosystem as the Ministry of Health (MoH) transitions key national health information systems to the Digital Health Agency (DHA). This transition is anchored in the Digital Health Act, 2023, and aligns with the country’s broader digital transformation agenda for the health sector.
The migration is being implemented through a phased approach to safeguard continuity of services while strengthening system governance, interoperability, and sustainability. Phase I focuses on several core national platforms, including DHIS2 Aggregate and Tracker, eCHIS, Kenya EMR, eID/Viral Load systems, KQMH for facility and community data, and the MoH Virtual Academy.
To support this transition, Amref Health Africa, in collaboration with Medic, supported the first capacity-building workshop on systems migration to equip technical teams with the skills required to manage, secure, and sustain these systems under government oversight.
Why Local Control of Digital Health Systems Matters
During the workshop, Peter Kithuku, the Director of ICT at the Ministry of Health, highlighted a major challenge facing many developing countries: reliance on externally controlled digital systems. When systems are hosted or managed outside the country, local teams often lack the authority or capacity to respond effectively when systems go down.
Such disruptions directly affect health service delivery, reporting, and decision-making, particularly for time-sensitive services such as disease surveillance, maternal health, and community-level reporting.
Migrating systems to government-controlled infrastructure, the Director emphasized, is not just a technical process. It is about data sovereignty, security, and national ownership.
“Health data is a national asset,” the Director noted, underscoring the importance of knowing where data is hosted, who controls it, and how it is accessed. Secure and well-governed data enables accurate reporting, better planning, and informed financing decisions across the health sector.
Linking Systems Migration to the Digital Health Act, 2023
The systems migration and capacity-building efforts directly support the implementation of the Digital Health Act, 2023, which provides the legal and institutional framework for digital health governance in Kenya.
The Act mandates the Digital Health Agency (DHA) to oversee, coordinate, and regulate national digital health systems. Central to this mandate is ensuring that digital platforms are secure, interoperable, reliable, and governed under a unified national framework.
Migrating systems to DHA-managed infrastructure advances the Act’s objectives by strengthening data sovereignty, improving cybersecurity and privacy protections, enabling interoperability across platforms, ensuring continuity of services, and building long-term institutional capacity within government.
Building Technical Capacity for Sustainable Digital Health Systems
Recognizing that infrastructure alone is not enough, the capacity-building workshop placed strong emphasis on human and institutional capacity. Participants were equipped with practical skills in:
- Server management and administration
- DHIS2 setup and implementation
- Application installation and management
- Network connectivity and troubleshooting
- Cybersecurity
- Data migration and management
- Change management and user support
By strengthening in-country expertise, the Ministry is reducing reliance on external vendors and laying the foundation for sustainable, government-led digital health operations.
Strengthening Community-to-National Health Data Integration
Digital systems are also critical to strengthening community health services. Platforms such as eCHIS support household registration, identification of health needs, pregnancy tracking, and health education at the community level.
When community-level data is well integrated into national systems, it improves planning, supports targeted interventions, and ensures decision-making is grounded in real population needs. This alignment between community, facility, and national data systems is essential to achieving Universal Health Coverage (UHC).
The Role of CHU4UHC Partners in Supporting Systems Migration
This capacity-building workshop was supported through the Community Health Units for Universal Health Coverage (CHU4UHC), by Amref Health Africa in partnership with Medic, with financial support from the Johnson & Johnson Foundation.
Through CHU4UHC, partners are supporting the Ministry of Health to:
- Strengthen governance and stewardship of digital health systems
- Build technical capacity for system management, migration, and sustainability
- Improve integration of community health data into national health information systems
- Support implementation of government-led digital health priorities under the Digital Health Act
Together, these contributions ensure that systems migration is not a standalone technical activity but part of a broader effort to strengthen locally managed, people-centred digital health systems.
Advancing Kenya’s Digital Health Agenda
As Kenya continues to operationalize the Digital Health Act, initiatives such as this workshop demonstrate how policy, capacity building, and partnerships can come together to support a secure and sustainable digital health ecosystem.
By prioritizing local control, strong governance, and skilled technical teams, Kenya is positioning its digital health systems to better serve communities, support frontline health workers, and accelerate progress toward Universal Health Coverage.