NAIROBI, KENYA — At the landmark AI in Health, Kenya Convergence 2026, a powerful coalition of 155 stakeholders from government, academia, and the private sector officially launched a Community of Practice (CoP) to govern and scale artificial intelligence in healthcare. This move marks a decisive shift from fragmented “pilotitis”—the cycle of small, unsustainable projects—toward a coordinated, ethical, and interoperable national AI ecosystem grounded in community participation.

The newly established CoP is described as a “meeting of minds” where members set the agenda to address the evolving realities of the health sector. By serving as a neutral platform for sustained collaboration, the CoP aims to ensure that AI development is not a one-time event but a continuous process of knowledge sharing and collective action. The community is organized into four thematic working groups: Ethics and Equity, Governance and Policy, Technical and Interoperability, and Operational and Implementation. These groups are already committed to producing a national casebook of AI use cases and a white paper to provide implementation-grounded guidance for national policy.

Central to this mission was the introduction to the ALIVE Framework (Adaptive, Locally-grounded, Inclusive, Vigilant, and Equitable) to stakeholders as a proposed approach for guiding ethical AI development in health.The framework emphasizes on continuous ethical oversight and that guiding principles reflect Kenyan values and community priorities rather than imported Western frameworks. This approach is reinforced by the work of Wakanyi Hoffman serving as a vital philosophical pillar for such a community. Her focus on the integration of Ubuntu ethics in sustainable AI design and her advocacy for intercultural inclusivity align perfectly with the Convergence’s call for “locally-grounded” ethics. Her work emphasizes that for AI to be sustainable in Africa, it must be rooted in the shared humanity and social interconnectedness that Ubuntu represents, ensuring innovations are inclusive of African cultural contexts.

The Convergence reached a strong consensus that local validation is non-negotiable; AI tools must be validated using Kenyan patient data and clinical contexts to prevent algorithmic bias. Furthermore, the community will advocate for data sovereignty, ensuring that health data generated in Africa benefits Africa and is protected from external exploitation.

By building an active and engaged community, Kenya is positioning itself as a regional leader in responsible, people-centered AI. The CoP will foster a “data-use culture” where clinicians, regulators, and data scientists work in tandem to ensure AI tools demonstrably improve health outcomes while respecting the principles of ethics, equity, and interoperability.

About the AI in Health, Kenya Convergence 2026 

Convened by HELINA (Pan African Health Informatics Association) and the Kenya Medical Association (KMA), the convergence brought together diverse actors to establish a shared vision for Kenya’s digital health journey, moving beyond pilots toward scaled, sustainable implementations.