Data-Driven HIV Humanitarianism, Data Colonialism, and Data Ethics: A Sub-Saharan African (SSA) Perspective

Abstract

This article examines how data-driven humanitarianism in the HIV/AIDS sector reproduces colonial patterns of extraction and inequality in sub-Saharan Africa (SSA). Drawing on case studies of AI-enabled health data systems, it analyses the ethical implications of large-scale data collection, storage, and transfer in contexts marked by poverty, weak regulatory capacity, and persistent stigma. While datafication and artificial intelligence promise efficiency and accountability in HIV response, they also risk coercive consent, exploitation, and surveillance. The article argues that these practices constitute a form of data colonialism, in which the informational resources of SSA are extracted for the benefit of actors in the Global North. It proposes that equitable data governance in health humanitarianism requires transparent agreements, enforceable benefit-sharing, and community accountability rooted in Ubuntu-based bioethics. The goal is not less data, but fairer data - secure, participatory, and oriented toward justice and sustainable health outcomes.