Reference Goal Model for Digital Health in Africa with a Focus on the Interoperability of Healthcare Systems

Digital health in Africa is gaining momentum, yet remains fragmented due to gaps in strategic coherence, capacity, and system interoperability. To address these challenges, this study proposes a Reference Goal Model that captures and structures the key goals and means underpinning digitalization and interoperability initiatives across multiple governance levels—national, regional, and continental. We applied the Business Motivation Model (BMM) to systematically analyze strategic content from three key strategic documents: Rwanda’s National Digital Health Strategic Plan, the East African Community’s (EAC) Digital REACH Initiative Strategic Plan, and the African Union’s (AU) Digital Transformation Strategy. Statements from the three documents were decomposed into atomic goals and means, illustrating how digital health and interoperability are conceived. The resulting Reference Goal Model for Digital Health in Africa (RGMDHA) identifies a set of goals and means for both digitalization and interoperability. By making these goals and means explicit and structured, the RGMDHA facilitates the strategic evaluation of national, regional, and continental plans, enables communication and stakeholder alignment in the digital health domain, and can be used as a tool for guiding the design and analysis of digital health and interoperability projects.