ADiJUST & Ssekamwa v Uganda, Kenya, Malawi, Angola, DRC & Ethiopia

A regional human rights communication concerning the transfer, disclosure, and foreign access to sensitive health data generated through African national health systems, public health programmes, and donor-supported health interventions.

Case background

The Communication challenges bilateral health cooperation arrangements through which the respondent States have allegedly permitted, proposed, or facilitated access by the United States Government, its agencies, contractors, and implementing partners to national health information systems, biological samples, pathogen information, genomic data, and other sensitive health records.

The Communication does not challenge international health cooperation in principle. It argues that such cooperation must comply with African human rights standards, domestic data protection laws, and principles of transparency, legality, necessity, proportionality, independent oversight, accountability, and equitable benefit-sharing.

Brief facts

The African Centre for Digital Justice and Frank Ssekamwa allege that Uganda, Kenya, Malawi, Angola, the Democratic Republic of the Congo, and Ethiopia entered into or facilitated health cooperation arrangements involving access to sensitive health information. The data potentially affected includes HIV and tuberculosis records, maternal and reproductive health information, mental health information, laboratory and disease-surveillance data, genomic and pathogen information, and data concerning children and marginalised communities.

Issues raised

• Whether the States permitted cross-border access to sensitive health data without sufficient legal safeguards and independent oversight.
• Whether they failed to ensure transparency, public participation, and effective remedies.
• Whether they exposed affected persons to risks of stigma, discrimination, surveillance, and exclusion.
• Whether they failed to protect women, children, people living with HIV, persons with disabilities, and other marginalised groups.

Provisional measures & reliefs sought

The complainants ask the Commission to urgently direct the respondent States to suspend further transfers and onward sharing of sensitive health data pending determination, and to preserve and publish the relevant agreements, technical annexes, access logs, and impact assessments. They seek findings of violation of the African Charter, together with stronger regulatory approval, independent audits, enforceable data-subject rights, effective remedies, and equitable benefit-sharing.

Strategic significance

A regional standard for health data governance. The Communication presents the African Commission with an opportunity to clarify that health-data governance is a human rights issue under the African Charter, establishing continent-wide standards for cross-border transfers and foreign access to national health systems.

Accountability in international health cooperation. It could establish that international health funding and technical cooperation do not displace States’ human rights obligations.