The Director of Health at the Africa Regional Office of the Rockefeller Foundation, Gerry Gimaiyo, has emphasised the need for stronger integration of health, climate, and environmental data systems to improve decision-making and crisis response across Africa. Speaking at a One Health webinar organised by Galien Africa in parenership with REMAPSEN, Gimaiyo stressed that the success of the One Health agenda depends largely on how well data systems communicate with each other.
“Currently, health, climate, and environmental data often exist in silos, limiting our ability to act effectively,” Gimaiyo said. He explained that combining these datasets could significantly improve decision-making and help protect populations from climate-related health risks. Collaboration between meteorological agencies and the health sector through institutional platforms such as meteorology and health desks can shift Africa’s response from reactive to proactive.
Several countries, including South Africa, Senegal, Kenya, and Rwanda, are already implementing such systems, while continental efforts are also gaining momentum. “These platforms make early warning systems possible in practice,” Gimaiyo said, adding that translating weather and climate data into public health insights enables timely interventions such as heatwave alerts, flood warnings, and drought preparedness measures.
However, Gimaiyo emphasised that integration goes beyond data sharing, requiring joint interpretation and co-production of information between sectors to ensure usability at the frontline level. He identified a major gap in disease surveillance across many African countries, particularly in tracking climate-sensitive conditions.
Using extreme heat as an example, Gimaiyo noted that while it is an increasing threat, many countries lack real-time systems to measure heat-related illnesses and deaths, leading to underestimation of the true burden. “If we underestimate the burden, we are also likely to under-prioritise the response,” he warned.
Gimaiyo called for increased investment in integrated data systems, early warning mechanisms, and surveillance infrastructure to make climate-related health risks more visible. He stressed that improved data systems are critical not just for information gathering, but for enabling faster, smarter, and better-coordinated responses within the One Health framework.
