13892_doi_deposit 20230222060000 assa nadiag@assaf.org.za assa South African Journal of Science S. Afr. J. Sci 1996-7489 11302022 118 11/12 Dirk Brand School of Public Leadership, Stellenbosch University, Stellenbosch, South Africa https://orcid.org/0000-0002-3660-5015 Jerome A. Singh School of Law, University of KwaZulu-Natal, Durban, South Africa https://orcid.org/0000-0002-6275-6853 Annelize G. Nienaber McKay Division of Law, Abertay University, Dundee, Scotland, United Kingdom Department of Public Law, University of Pretoria, Pretoria, South Africa https://orcid.org/0000-0002-4518-4312 Nezerith Cengiz Centre for Medical Ethics and Law, Stellenbosch University, Stellenbosch, South Africa https://orcid.org/0000-0002-7650-2897 Keymanthri Moodley Centre for Medical Ethics and Law, Stellenbosch University, Stellenbosch, South Africa https://orcid.org/0000-0003-3404-4901 While the COVID-19 pandemic has captured the attention of the global community since the end of 2019, deadly health pandemics are not new to Africa. Tuberculosis (TB), malaria and human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) count amongst other serious diseases that have had a catastrophic impact on the African continent. Effective responses to such pandemics require high-quality, comprehensive data sets that can inform policymaking and enhance healthcare decision-making. While data is driving the information economy in the 21st century, the scarcity in Africa of carefully curated, large epidemiologic data sources and analytical capacity to rapidly identify and understand emerging infectious diseases poses a major challenge to mounting a time-sensitive response to unfolding pandemics. Data access, sharing and transfer between countries are crucial to effectively managing current and future health pandemics. Data access and sharing, however, raises questions about personal privacy, the adequacy of governance mechanisms to regulate cross-border data flows, and ethical issues relating to the collection and use of personal data in the interests of public health. Sub-Saharan Africa’s most research-intensive countries are characterised by diverse data management and privacy governance frameworks. Such regional variance can impede time-sensitive data sharing and highlights the need for urgent governance reforms to facilitate effective decision-making in response to rapidly evolving public health threats. 10262022 1 10.17159/sajs.2016/crossmark sajs.co.za false 2022-05-06 2022-10-19 2022-10-26 National Institutes of Health http://dx.doi.org/10.13039/100000002 1U01MH127704-01 https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/ 10.17159/sajs.2022/13892 20230222060000 https://sajs.co.za/article/view/13892 https://sajs.co.za/article/view/13892/19226 https://sajs.co.za/article/view/13892/19226 https://sajs.co.za/article/view/13892/19226 https://sajs.co.za/article/view/13892/19226 https://sajs.co.za/article/view/13892/19226 https://sajs.co.za/article/view/13892/19226 https://sajs.co.za/article/view/13892/19226