By Kenneth Oboh

There are audit specialists who leave a footprint. And there are systems audit specialists who reshape how hospitals perform in strengthening care quality, financial health, and patient trust across entire regions. David Oviaesu belongs to those leagues. In this interview as the WHO Africa’s Systems Audit Regional Officer, he argues that technology is at a defining crossroads – where digital health, cybersecurity, and informatics must innovate, inspire trust, and close disparities.

What inspired you to pursue a career at the intersection of health informatics, IT governance, and cybersecurity?

I always had a deep desire to drive impactful, technology-enabled transformation in public health systems, particularly within the African context. I recognized that access to accurate, real-time data was a critical enabler of effective health interventions in the early days of my career. However, I also saw significant gaps in how data was managed, protected, and governed especially in environments where infrastructure was limited, and the stakes were incredibly high.

My professional path began in IT infrastructure and network management, where I developed strong technical foundations. Over time, I transitioned into roles that bridged data systems and health outcomes, such as managing GIS-based surveillance initiatives for the WHO African Region and coordinating complex, multi-stakeholder digital health projects. These roles exposed me to the immense potential of health informatics not just for monitoring diseases but for shaping policy, guiding resource allocation, and saving lives.

As I assumed greater responsibilities, including auditing systems and overseeing regional application deployments, the importance of robust IT governance and cybersecurity became increasingly evident. I’ve since led cloud migrations, championed secure data ecosystems, and enforced compliance with data protection standards, ensuring the continuity and integrity of mission-critical applications.

Ultimately, it is the opportunity to align technology with health equity that drives me. I am passionate about building systems that are not only innovative but secure, ethical, and resilient because in health informatics, the cost of failure isn’t just data loss; it’s lost lives.

Can you describe a major challenge you faced in your career and how overcoming it shaped your approach to innovation or leadership in the field?

One of the most defining challenges in my career was leading the migration of critical health applications supporting the WHO African Region’s Polio Programme to Microsoft Azure. This was during a period of heightened urgency, where uninterrupted access to real-time data was vital for surveillance, response, and coordination across multiple countries. The challenge wasn’t just technical – it was logistical, cross-cultural, and deeply strategic. I had to coordinate diverse teams, align with cybersecurity protocols, ensure zero data loss, and manage stakeholder expectations, all while maintaining system availability.

What made this particularly complex was the sheer scale of the transition which is over $500,000 in infrastructure and services combined with the responsibility of ensuring that health workers on the ground, from remote districts to regional headquarters, would experience no disruption. I led the process end-to-end: from conducting risk assessments and infrastructure audits to defining security protocols and coordinating developers and managing information flow to data managers across the region.

Overcoming this challenge fundamentally shaped my leadership style and approach to innovation. It taught me that successful digital transformation in public health requires more than technology because it demands empathy, collaboration, and a deep understanding of both people and process. I’ve since adopted a model that’s community-centered, security-first, and agile by design. Every innovation I lead today is grounded in the principle that resilience and usability must go hand in hand.

What achievement or project are you most proud of, and what impact did it have on patient care, data security, or organizational efficiency?

My involvement in ending polio in Nigeria stands as one of the most significant milestones in my career which is a testament to the power of data, collaboration, and strategic innovation in public health. As part of the team supporting the WHO African Region’s Polio Eradication Initiative, I was at the forefront of deploying and managing advanced data systems that provided the real-time intelligence necessary to track, respond to, and ultimately eliminate wild poliovirus transmission in Nigeria.

I played a central role in operationalizing GIS-based surveillance platforms that enabled the precise mapping of Acute Flaccid Paralysis (AFP) cases, vaccination coverage gaps, and high-risk settlements. These systems integrated mobile data collection, satellite imagery, and analytics to deliver actionable insights to field teams, enabling targeted interventions in even the most remote and security-challenged areas.

At that stage of both the project and my career, the organization was not yet ready for a fully cloud-based solution. We needed to stretch the capacity of our physical, on-premises servers to deliver what the Polio Programme required campaign execution, high-volume data collection, and uninterrupted decision support.
That meant taking on the difficult responsibility of ensuring minimal downtime, building multiple safeguards against data loss, and implementing every practical form of failover and continuity planning—so that service remained reliable, response teams stayed confident, and critical decisions were never delayed.
Were there issues and setbacks at certain times? Of course. But they became part of the learning curve and lessons that strengthened the systems and sharpened our operational discipline.
And ultimately, the results spoke loudly: Nigeria achieved freedom from wild poliovirus (WPV) certification in 2020. That outcome became the needed impetus for donors and management to invest in scaling the infrastructure and refactoring it for cloud readiness. Today, the same foundation has evolved beyond supporting Nigeria alone as it has expanded into an architecture that actively supports 47 countries.

This experience not only honed my skills in health informatics, IT governance, and data-driven strategy but also deepened my conviction that digital public health infrastructure is indispensable for disease eradication and emergency response.

How have emerging trends such as telehealth, genomics, or digital health has shaped your work and the skills you consider essential for success in this field?

Emerging trends like telehealth, digital health, and genomics have significantly influenced both the direction of my work and the competencies I prioritize as a leader at the intersection of health informatics, IT governance, and cybersecurity.

Digital health technologies have expanded the reach and responsiveness of public health systems especially in low-resource settings. My work has evolved to support platforms that enable remote data collection, mobile-based surveillance, and real-time health intelligence, ensuring timely decision-making even in complex humanitarian or geographically dispersed environments. These innovations have redefined how we monitor disease, deliver interventions, and engage with communities.

Genomics and precision public health, though still emerging in many parts of Africa, are reshaping the future of disease prevention and treatment. They demand a new kind of data infrastructure – one that can manage large, sensitive datasets while maintaining compliance with evolving ethical and legal standards. This has strengthened my focus on data governance frameworks, cross-border data sharing policies, and advanced analytics.

I believe essential skills like data literacy and digital fluency, cybersecurity and privacy-by-design thinking, agile systems leadership, and cross-disciplinary collaboration that blend public health, technology, and policy will help you thrive in this field today.

More than ever, our field requires adaptive professionals who not only understand systems but can anticipate how innovations will transform health delivery and population outcomes. These trends have reaffirmed my commitment to building secure, scalable, and inclusive digital health systems that leave no one behind.

How have you contributed to building teams, and how do you foster a culture of continuous learning and adaptation in your organization?

A big way I’ve contributed to building teams is through my role as part of the organizing structure for the biannual WHO AFRO Regional GIS Summit, which is not just a conference but a regional capacity-building and coordination engine. It brings together GIS and data managers from Ministries of Health, WHO Country Offices, ISTs, and key partners across the 47 countries in the African Region which is usually around 150 participants for about a week or more and so people don’t just learn tools, they also align on standards, interoperability, and shared operating approaches.

On continuous learning and adaptation: I foster it by deliberately creating an environment where learning is not optional or “nice-to-have,” but part of delivery. For example, the Summit design includes presentations/demos, workgroups, solution clinics, and structured follow-up (reports, technical materials, teleconferences, and roadmap implementation).

In practice, that means I build teams around an ecosystem mindset where countries learn from each other, where solutions are stress-tested against real field realities (low connectivity, emergency response needs), and where improvement cycles are built into operations. It’s basically: share knowledge >> validate with real implementation >> standardize >> improve again, continuously.

What advice would you give to professionals who aspire to make an impact in health informatics and cybersecurity, especially regarding career development?

For professionals aspiring to make a significant impact in health informatics and cybersecurity, my first advice to them is to stay grounded in purpose, and be flexible in approach. These fields sit at the nexus of technology, human health, and societal impact and so success requires more than technical proficiency; it demands empathy, foresight, and ethical integrity.

Here are five key pieces of advice I often share: Build strong interdisciplinary foundations:
Don’t silo yourself. Understanding both public health and technology especially areas like epidemiology, systems thinking, and cloud architecture which positions you as a bridge between data and decision-making. Health informatics is not just about tools; it’s about translating information into action.

Prioritize security by design. As health data becomes increasingly digital and decentralized, cybersecurity is no longer a support function but it’s foundational. Build systems with privacy, integrity, and resilience from day one. Learn how to audit, assess risks, and implement zero-trust architectures.

Be a lifelong learner and mentor. Invest in continuous education but also create pathways for others. Mentorship strengthens your leadership and multiplies your impact. I’ve seen entire teams transform simply because one person chose to share knowledge generously.

Whether you are designing a dashboard or securing a network, remember who you’re ultimately serving which is the patients, the communities, and frontline workers. Keep equity and usability at the heart of your innovation.

Seek purpose-aligned roles, not just titles. The work we do in health informatics and cybersecurity can save lives, protect dignity, and drive systems change. That clarity of mission will keep you resilient and relevant, even as technologies and trends continue to shift.

Is there anything else you would like to add?

When ethically applied, technology can be a force multiplier for equity and resilience in health systems, especially across under-resourced regions. I believe we are at a defining moment where digital health, cybersecurity, and informatics must innovate and inspire trust, protect lives, and bridge disparities.

My career has always been about building systems that last, architectures that are secure, adaptable, and centered on human impact. Whether leading complex cloud migrations, designing real-time surveillance platforms, or mentoring future leaders, I remain committed to empowering communities through inclusive, data-driven solutions.