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By Jackson Okata
Nairobi, Kenya– From her mud-walled one-roomed house, in the heart of sprawling Mathare slums, North of Kenya’s Capital, Nairobi, Jecinta Achieng’s eyes are fixed on her phone. She is expecting a notification of her doctor’s appointment. “My next doctor’s visit is coming up next week. I don’t have to travel to the Kenyatta National Hospital to book an appointment. The clinic does the scheduling, and a notification pops up on my phone,” she told Talk Africa.
The mother of four has been battling diabetes for the past three years. She makes a hospital visit once every week.
As part of its broader efforts to realise universal health coverage for all, the Kenyan government has been integrating health data management systems on the Afya Yangu digital platform.
Afya Yangu is Kenya’s national digital health record and health-services platform that provides an individual digital health record that stores one’s health history, diagnoses, prescriptions, lab results, clinical observations, doctor encounters, and hospital visits.
At the same time, the platform allows one to make doctor or hospital appointments, track insurance claims, manage prescriptions, and monitor diagnostic reports.
Achieng is among the three million Kenyans using the centralised digital medical records platform that helps patients track doctor appointments, hospital visits, prescription information, medical history, and treatment.
“I don’t have to worry about losing my medical records or carrying a bundle of papers on my hospital visits. My doctor already has my records,’’ Achieng said.
Enhancing Efficiency
According to Kenya’s Health Minister Aden Duale, digitisation of the health sector is central to addressing inefficiencies, eliminating fraud, and enhancing service delivery.
“We are deliberate about this, and that is why we established the Digital Health Agency, which oversees Afya Yangu operations,” he told Talk Africa.
He added, “Through digitisation we can guarantee Kenyans an efficient, effective and transparent healthcare system”.
Duale noted that, unlike the manual process, Afya Yangu enables real-time doctor-patient interaction.
The system is now operational in 17 counties across Kenya.
Eng. Antony Lenaiyara, acting Chief Executive Officer of the Digital Health Agency, explained that the Afya Yangu platform enables portability of patient data across health facilities.
“This enables service providers to access a patient’s medical history no matter what health facility they visit, which helps with continuity of care and avoids redundant tests,” said Lenaiyara.
Monica Kirigo, a resident of Komarock estate in Nairobi, undergoes her weekly dialysis sessions at the Kenyatta National Hospital. In August 2025, her condition worsened at night. She was rushed to the Mama Lucy Hospital, where she received treatment.
“I just gave consent, and the doctor was able to retrieve my medical records from Afya Yangu. She was then able to handle my condition effectively, putting me out of danger’’ she told Talk Africa.
Dr Alexander Irungu, the Chief Executive Officer of Mbagathi Hospital, says apart from securing patients’ medical records, the digital platform has saved time and resources used in redoing tests that had already been done.
“In cases where the patient lost physical copies of results, the system is there as backup, unlike in the past when the tests had to be redone’’ he said.
At the same time, Irungu says the system has helped reduce defaulting on treatment by patients, especially those under TB and HIV care.
“Because of the real-time monitoring, we can tell who has not picked up their medication or who has not honoured a doctor’s appointment’’ equipped Irungu.
Dr Irungu affirms that the digital health monitoring system has reduced the hospital’s administrative burden, improved patient outcomes, and enhanced medical data security.
“We are witnessing improved patient data management, enhanced patient care coordination, and easy access to medical records for patients enrolled on the platform,” he said.
Transparency and Accountability
Lenaiyara notes that Afya Yangu also integrates regulatory bodies like the Kenya Medical Practitioners and Dentists Council to ensure all practitioners and health facilities meet licensing standards.
“The platform ensures that every healthcare provider and health facility is traceable, responsible, compliant, and accountable. This enhances transparency and accountability of both workers and facilities’’ he said
To curb the theft and distribution of counterfeit drugs, Afya Yangu has a track-and-trace medicine system, which allows the government to monitor every drug supplied to public health facilities.
Moving forward, Lenaiyara says Afya Yangu will integrate AI technology to enhance its effectiveness, like cross-checking prescriptions against patient history to prevent harmful drug interactions or allergic reactions.
Afya yangu is developed under the Digital Health Agency and coordinated by the Ministry of Health. It integrates public and private health facilities, insurance schemes, healthcare workers, and patients, allowing all patients, whether in public or private health facilities, to use it.
As a standard DPI hallmark on interoperability, the system operates on standardised data protocols, which enable data exchange across facilities and services. Beyond just storing records, Afya Yangu supports insurance claims, regulatory oversight, medicines traceability, and real-time service delivery data.
Legal Cushion
The system creates a national-scale health records platform, which makes it easier for the government, researchers, and journalists to analyse disease burden, treatment gaps, and drug resistance trends.
The digital system also enhances Transparency and accountability in public health financing since it can help track public health insurance coverage, usage, and claims, shedding light on who gets what care and how funds are spent.
Lenaiyara says as a DPI, if fully implemented, Afya Yangu can reduce disparities in health access, enabling patients from remote areas to have portable records, access care in different facilities, and avoid repeat treatments.
At the same time, he agrees that the digital divide among Kenyans, interoperability standards, public trust, and data privacy concerns remain the biggest challenges facing the implementation of Afya Yangu.
“It is an open secret that many people are sceptical about the platform, especially when it comes to sensitive information like personal medical records, but have legal provisions to safeguard against such risks’’ said Lenaiyara.
To enhance patient data privacy and security, the Afya Yangu platform is anchored under the Digital Health Act 15 of 2023, the primary legislation governing digital health systems in Kenya. The law oversees the digital health systems coordination, health Information exchange, data protection and Privacy, as well as digital health standards.
Kenya’s Data Protection Act, 2019, which provides the legal framework for handling personal data, digital privacy, and security, also supports the implementation of the system. The law also outlines legal provisions under which data can be shared between entities.
Further, to enhance public trust and data security of the digital system, Afya Yangu is also shielded by the Computer Misuse and Cybercrimes Act, 2018, which outlines offences and penalties for cybercrimes like hacking, data breaches, and cyber espionage.
Additionally, the government is developing the Digital Health (Data Exchange) Regulations, which will govern the exchange of health data between systems and entities in Kenya. The regulations will establish data exchange standards, data interoperability requirements, data security Protocols, audit requirements, and the compliance framework.
As Kenya races to realise its universal health care, Afya Yangu is a measure of how digital public infrastructure can truly deliver equity in care.
“Universal health coverage will not be achieved on paper. It will be realised when a mother in Mathare, a dialysis patient in Komarock, and a pastoralist in Turkana can access their health records with one tap. Afya Yangu is the bridge we are building to get there,” Duale concluded.
