Towards more effective National Health Information Systems in the WHO African Region
Brazzaville, 21 November 2012 -- Health information is a key component of national health systems. Better Health Information Systems means a healthier public.
What is a Health Information System? It is the collection, organization, use and transmission of quality and reliable information on human health that is used to shape policy, make decisions, and monitor health status and trends. In the World Health Organization (WHO) African Region, national health information systems have limited capacity to produce good quality and timely information.
The major challenges facing national health information systems in our Region and how they can be resolved were among the issues addressed in a report presented today by the WHO Regional Director for Africa, Dr Luis Sambo, to the Sixty-second Session of the Regional Committee for Africa, currently taking place in Luanda, Angola.
In the report, he highlighted the challenges facing countries in strengthening their national Health Information Systems. Among these are efforts and initiatives aimed at acquiring health information, which are fragmented across sectors, levels, projects, disciplines and specialties. Other challenges include are poor generation of evidence for policy and decision-making as well as lack of collaboration among stakeholders to effectively analyse and share available data and evidence.
To help countries overcome some of the above challenges, the Regional Director recommended that each country establish a platform that could serve as a National Health Observatory - an online repository for quality information on health. A clear road map and timeline should be established for this process. He assured African countries that WHO is ready to provide detailed advice and technical support, including the preparation of project proposals, generic templates, assistance in organizing stakeholder workshops and specific training.
When developing National Health Observatories (NHOs), the Regional Director recommended that African countries should involve and coordinate all health stakeholders. A ‘Secretariat’ should be located within the department of health information in the Ministry of Health to liaise with other units in the Ministry and external institutions. He also recommended that leaders in health should publicly demonstrate strong backing for the Observatory. International partners should be encouraged to fund NHOs and WHO, in particular, should provide technical support.
He urged countries that have established NHOs to make sure that they have technologies and solutions that meet the specific needs of their countries. Countries should also facilitate the role of NHOs in continuing education by developing and providing appropriate training materials for joint learning.
He concluded by expressing optimism that the NHOs will improve sharing and use of important health information and lead to better health for Africans.
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For more information, please contact:
Dr Derege Kebede, kebeded [at] afro.who.int; tel: +47-241-39329
Samuel T. Ajibola, ajibolas [at] afro.who.int; tel: +47-241-39378
José Caetano, Caetanoj [at] ao.afro.who.int; tel: +244 912220543
C. Boakye-Agyemang, boakyec [at] afro.who.int; tel: +472 413 9420, tel: +244 943801810