Counted and Connected: Why Inclusive Identity is Africa’s Foundation for AI

What if every child born in Africa entered the world with an inherent key to the twenty-first century—not a smartphone or an artificial intelligence assistant, but something far more fundamental: the recognition that they exist, are known, and truly belong.

At the recently concluded United Nations General Assembly, African leaders reflected on the essential steps required for the continent to unlock the true potential of artificial intelligence. During the Unstoppable Africa session, Rwanda’s Prime Minister, Justin Nsengiyumva, highlighted decades of deliberate government investment in digital public infrastructure—ranging from nationwide 4G coverage to the digitization of over 250 government services. His central argument was clear: artificial intelligence cannot thrive on algorithms alone. Meanwhile, Sierra Leone’s Chief Minister, David Moinina Sengeh, introduced a critical historical perspective, questioning whether the twenty-first century will repeat past patterns of resource extraction by allowing our data to be extracted without equitable benefit.

Currently, nearly half of all children under five in sub-Saharan Africa lack registered births, a statistic that threatens to intensify as Africa is projected to account for one in every three global births by 2050. This is not merely an administrative or bureaucratic shortfall; it represents a profound global equity gap. Regardless of one’s sector—whether in public health, financial inclusion, education, agriculture, the public or private sector, or as an entrepreneur, investor, or funder—organizations routinely count and report the populations they reach. Yet, how many can truly identify the individuals they have missed, understand their specific needs, or determine how to connect with them? Without a clear understanding of the denominator, evaluating real impact and maintaining meaningful accountability becomes impossible.

A government cannot effectively monitor child vaccination rates, verify the delivery of community health services, or ensure resources reach the most vulnerable if vast segments of its population remain invisible in official records. How can we hope to bridge this gap without first understanding its true scale?

This is why every registered birth and every recorded death matters. Such data provides governments with a clearer picture of the populations they serve and establishes the essential foundation for citizen participation in an increasingly digital society. Globally, more than 800 million people lack official proof of identity, with over half of them being children whose births were never recorded. As public services continue to digitize, systemic recognition will increasingly dictate how easily individuals can access healthcare, education, social protection, and economic opportunities.

African nations are already exploring diverse pathways to address these challenges. In Kenya, the Maisha Namba initiative aims to provide every citizen with a lifelong personal identifier starting at birth. Rwanda has spent years integrating civil registration, identity, and public service delivery, while Ethiopia continues to expand its Fayda digital identification system. These initiatives illustrate a profound opportunity: to count individuals from birth, recognize them throughout their lives, and seamlessly connect them to necessary services and opportunities. However, as these services migrate online, we must safeguard against the inadvertent exclusion of those lacking the required documentation, connectivity, or digital literacy.

This challenge grows even more critical as artificial intelligence assumes a larger role in how governments analyze populations, assess risks, and allocate resources. According to a joint analysis of AI readiness across 83 countries by the Vital Strategies Foundation and Futures, nations start from vastly different positions, and readiness depends on far more than mere access to AI technology. While AI holds immense promise for strengthening disease surveillance, supporting health workers in decision-making, and enabling early responses to public health threats, artificial intelligence is entirely dependent on the data it consumes. This reality forces us to question who is represented in these datasets and who is omitted. If populations are absent or poorly represented in the systems feeding AI, the technology will not magically render them visible; their lived realities will remain absent from the very insights used to make decisions affecting them.

Consequently, inclusion in the age of artificial intelligence cannot begin after an algorithm is constructed; it must start at the foundational level. It begins with whether a child is counted at birth, recognized by the state, able to access healthcare and education, and whether their lived experiences are integrated into the data used to understand their community. It also depends on whether individuals have a voice in the design and governance of the technologies intended to serve them. This is why some of the most intelligent investments in the AI era may not resemble traditional AI investments at all. Instead, they will look like robust birth and death registration systems, reliable identity frameworks, interoperable public infrastructure, stringent data governance, and skilled public-sector workforces capable of protecting citizen data while leveraging it for better decision-making.

At the Unstoppable Africa forum, one phrase particularly resonated: “radical inclusion.” This is an ambition well worth carrying into Africa’s strategic approach to artificial intelligence. True success should not simply be measured by the volume of AI solutions developed or deployed across the continent. Rather, it must signify that African institutions possess the capacity to shape these technologies, that local realities are accurately reflected in the underlying data, and that the benefits reach those who have historically been easiest for public systems to overlook.

This perspective fundamentally alters the investment conversation. Instead of building fragmented, disconnected systems each time a new technology or health intervention emerges, governments, philanthropic organizations, and development partners have the opportunity to invest once—and invest wisely—in robust public foundations. These foundational systems allow multiple solutions to build upon them, ensuring that nations can own and sustain their own development pathways. While much is said about Africa’s opportunity to leapfrog in the AI era, such progress remains contingent upon having a strong, stable foundation from which to leap.

For a continent poised to host one in every three children born globally, laying this groundwork begins with a remarkably fundamental step: ensuring every child is counted, recognized, and connected.

Mary-Ann Etiebet, MD, MBA, President and CEO, Vital Strategies

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