{
  "id": 5354400,
  "title": "Kenya steps up Behavioural Intelligence to tackle cross-border health threats",
  "url": "https://urgent.news/2026/09/03/kenya-steps-up-behavioural-intelligence-to-tackle-cross-border-health",
  "topic": "world",
  "section": "World",
  "published": "2026-09-03T14:00:10.000Z",
  "source": {
    "name": "KBC",
    "slug": "kbc",
    "url": "https://www.kbc.co.ke/kenya-steps-up-behavioural-intelligence-to-tackle-cross-border-health-threats/"
  },
  "original_language": "en",
  "account": "Kenya has pledged to bolster Behavioural Intelligence and Infodemic Management (BIIM) in a bid to bolster readiness and response to health crises that cross borders. At a workshop in Mombasa, Assistant Secretary for Public Health and Professional Standards, Mary Muthoni, announced plans to embed BIIM in current public-health and digital-health frameworks, while enhancing interoperability, data governance, privacy, security, and institutional capabilities. The integration seeks to transform behavioural, community, service-use, and information-environment cues into actionable intelligence for informed decision-making during health emergencies. Africa CDC has described BIIM as a state-led capability aimed at strengthening preparedness, response, and community confidence. Muthoni added that Kenya will bring its expertise in quality management and standards to aid the institutionalization and ongoing enhancement of BIIM across the continent. She expressed enthusiasm over the proposed BIIM Regional Centre of Excellence in Nairobi, highlighting that it would facilitate capacity building, standards development, research, innovation, peer learning, and quality improvement among member states. Muthoni emphasized the importance of regional cooperation, promising Kenya's dedication to collaboratively develop a unified continental BIIM capability alongside Africa CDC, WHO, ECOWAS Regional Centre for Surveillance, Disease Control and Prevention (RCSDC), member states, and other stakeholders. She concluded by urging, \"Let us use this opportunity to build an African Behavioural Intelligence and Infodemic Management system that listens better, learns faster, acts earlier and protects trust.\"",
  "summary": "Kenya has reaffirmed its commitment to strengthening Behavioural Intelligence and Infodemic Management (BIIM) to enhance preparedness and response to cross-border public-health threats. In a statement, at the Continental BIIM Harmonisation and Validation Workshop in Mombasa, Principal Secretary, Public Health and Professional Standards Mary Muthoni noted that government has committed to integrate…",
  "key_points": [],
  "editors_take": null,
  "illustration": null,
  "coverage": {
    "outlets": 1,
    "also_reported_by": []
  },
  "ai_generated": true,
  "disclaimer": "Summaries, key points and the editor’s take are written by software from other outlets’ reporting and may contain errors — always check the linked original."
}