The WHO recognizes the crucial role of Health Information Systems (HIS) in strengthening national health systems and improving health outcomes. In the WHO African Region, the WHO HIS program plays a central role in supporting Member States to enhance their national health information systems. Broadly, WHO’s HIS work in the African Region focuses on improving systems and capacities for a) governance of national health information systems; b) data generation, storage, and transmission; c) health data analysis and synthesis; and d) the communication and use of health data for decision-making. Since these four key areas of focus are inextricably linked, WHO supports Member States in ensuring their full functionality to produce high-quality, timely, and reliable data.
WHO's focus on HIS governance stems from the understanding that a robust governance system for HIS is essential for the long-term sustainability of national health information systems. The WHO HIS Program therefore supports countries to develop and implement HIS strategic plans and policies, along with their operational plans, monitoring and evaluation frameworks and costing. WHO also supports countries to implement common data standards (including the reference classifications in the WHO Family of International Classifications (WHO-FIC)), strengthen the HIS workforce, harmonize partners, and align partner resources with country priorities for HIS, and establish a coordinated and country-led mechanism for collaboration that ensures the full participation of all actors.
WHO's support to the Member States for data generation, storage, and transmission focuses on utilizing various data sources and harnessing innovations in digital technology to improve the accuracy and speed of data collection and reporting as well as data safety and security. In this regard, WHO assists Member States in generating and using data from routine health information systems (data collected from patients receiving care in health facilities), civil registration and vital statistics (particularly data on births, deaths, and causes of death), population-level surveys, integrated disease surveillance programs, health facility assessment surveys, and administrative records related to human resources, health financing, medicines, and infrastructure. Each of these data sources is essential, as it offers a distinct dataset for a specific health measurement.
Similarly, WHO prioritizes providing support to countries in data analysis and synthesis, interpreting results, generating information and evidence, and facilitating the use of evidence in decision-making. As a result, WHO helps Member States adopt various mechanisms for generating evidence and promoting its use, including institutionalizing data analysis knowledge and skills, utilizing open-access platforms for information dissemination, and engaging key stakeholders through policy dialogue events.