very person in the room, every head of state, every founder, every investor, at some point has been a patient—repeating their medical history to a doctor, waiting for results stored in a system they cannot access.
Fragmented healthcare systems are a global problem. The difference is that in some regions, friction is absorbed by institutions with resources, whereas in many others, friction translates into life-and-death outcomes. Medical errors and system failures are among the leading causes of death worldwide, a reminder that fragmentation is more than an inconvenience, it is a systemic risk.
Healthcare has its own value chain and the patient is the reason it exists. Yet the patient has no ownership of their data, no visibility to monitor health, and no ecosystem to manage stakeholders. Every stakeholder is occupied with their slice of the value chain, and none are aligned toward optimizing the patient journey.
Trust in healthcare is not created by innovation alone but can be earned through safe, transparent systems upon which people may rely.
The discussion in Paris will be bifurcated: The G7 discussions focusing on governance frameworks, VivaTech looks to technology for solutions. Both are integral elements of the foundational question regarding for whom the system is designed.
This fragmentation is fundamental in Africa. Research describes the result as “health data poverty.” Health information exists but remains inaccessible, fragmented, or unusable to people whose lives depend on it.
Fragmented records cause preventable errors, redundant testing, and delayed diagnosis. What’s missing is an ecosystem that centres the patient as the subject and owner of their data.
Two realities must be faced. First, governance does not hinder innovation, it guides it. Where digital health regulation is unclear, innovators tread uncertainly, and consequences are borne by patients. Second, connectivity gaps are real. Internet access in underserved communities remains unequal. Patient-owned health infrastructure only delivers if patients can reach it.
Demography gives genuine hope. Africa’s median age is under 25. By 2030, young Africans will comprise approximately 42% of the world’s youth. They are a digitally native population that will not accept the fragmented, institution-centric model. They want to own their health data the way they own their devices. National digital health strategies across Africa need to keep pace with this generation’s expectations.
The frameworks shaped in Paris this summer will govern health systems for decades. This means committing to interoperability standards that make patient-owned health records a baseline while investors and builders prioritize the connective ecosystem of care. These systems will determine whether healthcare becomes more human or more fragmented. Both conversations need the same starting point everyone knows intimately: The patient.
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The patient is in the room—are policy and tech listening?
Getty Images via Unsplash+.
June 19, 2026
Patient-owned health data is the missing foundation atop which both governance and innovation must build, writes Rabia Cozijn.
E
very person in the room, every head of state, every founder, every investor, at some point has been a patient—repeating their medical history to a doctor, waiting for results stored in a system they cannot access.
Fragmented healthcare systems are a global problem. The difference is that in some regions, friction is absorbed by institutions with resources, whereas in many others, friction translates into life-and-death outcomes. Medical errors and system failures are among the leading causes of death worldwide, a reminder that fragmentation is more than an inconvenience, it is a systemic risk.
Healthcare has its own value chain and the patient is the reason it exists. Yet the patient has no ownership of their data, no visibility to monitor health, and no ecosystem to manage stakeholders. Every stakeholder is occupied with their slice of the value chain, and none are aligned toward optimizing the patient journey.
Trust in healthcare is not created by innovation alone but can be earned through safe, transparent systems upon which people may rely.
The discussion in Paris will be bifurcated: The G7 discussions focusing on governance frameworks, VivaTech looks to technology for solutions. Both are integral elements of the foundational question regarding for whom the system is designed.
This fragmentation is fundamental in Africa. Research describes the result as “health data poverty.” Health information exists but remains inaccessible, fragmented, or unusable to people whose lives depend on it.
Fragmented records cause preventable errors, redundant testing, and delayed diagnosis. What’s missing is an ecosystem that centres the patient as the subject and owner of their data.
Two realities must be faced. First, governance does not hinder innovation, it guides it. Where digital health regulation is unclear, innovators tread uncertainly, and consequences are borne by patients. Second, connectivity gaps are real. Internet access in underserved communities remains unequal. Patient-owned health infrastructure only delivers if patients can reach it.
Demography gives genuine hope. Africa’s median age is under 25. By 2030, young Africans will comprise approximately 42% of the world’s youth. They are a digitally native population that will not accept the fragmented, institution-centric model. They want to own their health data the way they own their devices. National digital health strategies across Africa need to keep pace with this generation’s expectations.
The frameworks shaped in Paris this summer will govern health systems for decades. This means committing to interoperability standards that make patient-owned health records a baseline while investors and builders prioritize the connective ecosystem of care. These systems will determine whether healthcare becomes more human or more fragmented. Both conversations need the same starting point everyone knows intimately: The patient.
