Guides

Health

Query African immunization, mortality, TB, child nutrition, and water and sanitation indicators from WHO and UNICEF. Available countries and years vary by metric.

African Health Data API

Query immunization, maternal and child mortality, tuberculosis, child nutrition, and water and sanitation indicators as historical series or latest available values.

Health data comes from the WHO Global Health Observatory (who_gho) and UNICEF child welfare indicators (unicef_child_welfare). Check each indicator's coverage for available countries and years.

Migrating health queries from api.dataafrica.io? See the DataAfrica migration guide for mappings and child nutrition coverage differences.

Start With These Endpoints

  • GET /v1/indicators?category=health
  • GET /v1/data?category=health
  • GET /v1/data?category=child_welfare
  • GET /v1/sources/who_gho

Available Health Metrics

Health outcomes (WHO Global Health Observatory):

  • dtp3_immunization_pct — DTP3 coverage among one-year-olds
  • measles_immunization_pct — measles immunization coverage
  • maternal_mortality_ratio — deaths per 100,000 live births
  • neonatal_mortality_rate — deaths per 1,000 live births
  • under_five_mortality_rate — deaths per 1,000 live births
  • tb_incidence_per_100k — tuberculosis cases per 100,000 population

Child nutrition and welfare (UNICEF):

  • stunting_under5_pct — stunting among children under 5
  • wasting_under5_pct — wasting among children under 5
  • birth_registration_pct — birth registration under age 5
  • child_marriage_women_20_24_pct — women 20–24 married before age 18

Water and sanitation (UNICEF WASH):

  • basic_drinking_water_pct — basic drinking water services
  • basic_sanitation_pct — basic sanitation services

Example: Latest Health Snapshot For One Country

curl "https://api.africa-api.com/v1/data?country_code=ng&category=health&latest=true" \
  -H "Authorization: Bearer $AFRICA_API_KEY"

Example: Compare Child Stunting Across Countries

curl "https://api.africa-api.com/v1/data?country_codes=et,ng,ke&metric_key=stunting_under5_pct&latest=true" \
  -H "Authorization: Bearer $AFRICA_API_KEY"

Example: Rank Countries By Under-Five Mortality

curl "https://api.africa-api.com/v1/indicators/under_five_mortality_rate/rankings?year=2024&limit=10" \
  -H "Authorization: Bearer $AFRICA_API_KEY"

Example: Immunization Time Series

curl "https://api.africa-api.com/v1/data?country_code=ke&metric_key=dtp3_immunization_pct" \
  -H "Authorization: Bearer $AFRICA_API_KEY"

Common Health Data Questions

Which countries have health data?

Coverage varies by metric and reporting year. Start with /v1/indicators?category=health, then inspect an indicator's detail record for its available countries and years. UNICEF child nutrition metrics use the child_welfare category.

Does Africa API have child malnutrition data?

Yes. Stunting (stunting_under5_pct) and wasting (wasting_under5_pct) among children under 5 are available from UNICEF under the child_welfare category. Underweight prevalence specifically is not exposed yet; use UNICEF data directly if you need it.

Where does the health data come from?

WHO Global Health Observatory for health outcomes and UNICEF for child welfare, protection, and WASH indicators. Every observation carries its source field, and /v1/sources/{source_code} reports provenance and the latest successful refresh.

On this page