Nairobi: The Africa Centres for Disease Control and Prevention (Africa CDC) and African Union Member States have progressed in their initiative to harmonise Behavioural Intelligence and Infodemic Management (BIIM) across Africa. This effort aims to bolster public-health decision-making and outcomes throughout the continent.
According to News Agency of Nigeria, Africa CDC released a statement indicating that the initiative is designed to incorporate behavioural, social, community, and information-environment evidence into public-health decisions and actions across African nations and institutions. A recent workshop convened experts from Member States, regional institutions, public-health leaders, and technical partners to review and validate the emerging Continental BIIM package for coordinated implementation across Africa.
The package comprises a BIIM Framework, Strategy, Digital and Data Architecture, and a Roadmap for institutionalisation and implementation. These components are intended to guide continental coordination and adoption. Participants in this initiative included representatives from Burundi, Ghana, Kenya, Mauritania, Sierra Leone, and Zimbabwe, along with regional institutions and technical partners focused on public-health surveillance, preparedness, and response.
The ECOWAS Regional Centre for Surveillance and Disease Control (RCSDC), WHO’s Africa Infodemic Response Alliance (AIRA), and other partners also contributed to the discussions. BIIM is being developed as a public-health intelligence capability that will enable countries to integrate multiple sources of evidence, encompassing behavioural and social data, community feedback, social listening, and more.
According to Africa CDC, the initiative is built on the principle that BIIM will be owned by Member States, stewarded by Africa CDC, supported by partners, and enabled by funders to ensure sustainability and accountability. Ms Mary Muriuki, Principal Secretary of Kenya’s Ministry of Health, emphasized the importance of national ownership for the success of BIIM across African countries and institutions.
Muriuki clarified that BIIM is not meant to create another platform but to strengthen and connect existing national capabilities. She committed to championing BIIM across Africa, promoting Member State leadership and political engagement for its institutionalisation and long-term implementation.
Participants recognised that African public-health systems already produce substantial evidence, but noted that the evidence often remains fragmented, limiting its use in decision-making. BIIM aims to connect existing capabilities while establishing common standards for quality, governance, and shared learning, allowing Member States to determine their institutional arrangements.
Africa CDC will provide continental stewardship through common standards, technical guidance, coordination, and cross-country learning to strengthen implementation. The workshop emphasized moving beyond data collection to generate intelligence that supports public-health actions, with a focus on generating decision-ready intelligence from community concerns, rumours, and social-media trends.
BIIM is expected to enhance emergency preparedness and response, immunisation, primary health care, community trust, and other priority health behaviours. Dr Lul Riek and Dr Priscilla Madzinga-Kusena of Africa CDC highlighted the importance of integrating behavioural intelligence into routine processes for effective public-health decisions.
Mr Patrick Lansana of the ECOWAS RCCE Network expressed support for the Continental BIIM Framework and regional coordination efforts. The workshop marks a shift towards institutionalisation and implementation, with a long-term goal of an interconnected African public-health intelligence capability.