The Africa Climate and Health Data Capacity Accelerator Network (Africa CAN) empowers emerging African data professionals to use climate and health data to help countries build resilience and respond to crises. It was created by the Global Partnership and data.org with support from the Wellcome Trust.

This Playbook explains the Africa CAN model, which includes focused training that develops core skills, embedded fellowships within host institutions where those skills are applied to real decisions, and a sharing network. Inside, you’ll find clear explanations, short cases, and lessons so partners can plan and adopt, learners can confidently apply their skills, and funders can see how targeted support improves outcomes.

Learn more in the Playbook. Download the full Playbook here.

Why this matters now

Climate and health are deeply connected, but too often, the data and the people who steward it are separated. The Africa Climate & Health Data Capacity Accelerator Network (Africa CAN) was set up to change that. Africa CAN pairs practical skills training with on-the-ground delivery inside host institutions, and connects everyone through a network that shares tools, lessons, and momentum across countries.

The Playbook captures how this model works in practice—what changed inside institutions, how collaboration grew, and where the network made an impact and traveled faster.

The Playbook is for:

Partners in ministries, agencies, and social-impact groups see how training and fellowships within host institutions change daily work, with simple steps for safe data sharing, teamwork, and adoption.

Learners and other data professionals see how to turn course skills into real decisions, with examples.

Funders see how skills, hands-on learning, and networks reinforce each other, where targeted support matters most, and how impact is tracked.

Explore the chapters

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Africa’s climate and health data revolution

Why climate and health belong in the same room and what changes when you start with a real policy question.

CAN workshop

Chapter 2: How Africa CAN works

Training feeds into data fellowships inside host institutions, where fellows work on a defined use case, secure data access with light governance, and deliver relevant research and scalable solutions.

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Chapter 3: Growing the ecosystem

Collaboration and a knowledge-sharing culture help build a network of climate and health data scientists and researchers across the continent.

CAN training

Chapter 4: Building the skillset

Cohorts worked on on real problems through peer discussions, case work, and storytelling, resulting in improved skills and opportunities for collaboration.

CAN fellows

Chapter 5: The impact in motion

Embedded fellows identified a concrete problem within their respective host institutions, addressed data access issues early, and delivered beneficial research outcomes and tools — such as maps, analytics, and dashboards — that influenced policy.

Steven Bowah

Chapter 6: Journeys of growth

In their own words: what shifted for learners and fellows as confidence and collaboration grew.

CAN workshop

Chapter 7: Catalyzing change

Focused workshops and exchanges build skills, foster trust, and enable faster access to data.

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Chapter 8: Measuring what matters

Follow the process from learning to delivery, uptake, and outcomes, and track only what helps you improve.

CAN workshop

Chapter 9: What we’ve learned

Adapt to context and link institutions through a trusted network, starting deep before scaling. Include language needs, ease ethical data access, use training to open doors, tell the story, embed skills in host teams, and design for busy adult learners.

Download the full Playbook

Authors

Joshua Omena
Joshua Omena
Campaign and Content Manager
The Global Partnership
Steph Welstead
Steph Welstead
Editor
The Global Partnership
Annita
Annita Mwagiru
Project Officer
The Global Partnership
Linet
Linet Kwamboka
Senior Manager, Innovation for Development
The Global Partnership
Muthoni
Muthoni Mugo
Monitoring, Evaluation, and Learning Manager
The Global Partnership

With thanks to Priyank Hirani, Director of Capacity Building, data.org, Shivam Shukla, Coordinator, Programs and Capacity Building, data.org, and Shubhi Vijay, Product Content Specialist, data.org, whose contributions strengthened this Playbook.