Working together for robust country data
As the name suggests, the Health Data Collaborative is an inclusive partnership of international agencies, governments, philanthropies, donors and academics, with the common aim of improving health data. Countries are at the core of what we do, supported by donors, academics, UN agencies and civil society organizations.
The Health Data Collaborative is not a formal partnership. We operate with a light, nimble governance structure, based on a shared vision that by working together to strengthen country information systems, we can contribute meaningfully to better decision-making and better health.
Nor is the Health Data Collaborative a fund. It is not directly responsible for financing health information systems, but for bringing countries, donors and other partners together to make sure investments are made in the most efficient and effective way.
Australian Government commitments
- Contribute US$ 15 million to support the $100 Million Data for Health program, with its focus on CRVS system strengthening, data impact and NCD surveillance at country, regional and global levels.
- Partner with Bloomberg Philanthropies to facilitate harmonisation of approaches between the Data for Health partnership and the Health Data Collaborative.
Bloomberg Philanthropies commitments
- Contribute to the development of a state-of-the-art health data technical package of guidance and tools for countries through a grant to WHO.
- Ensure linkages of the $100 Million Data for Health program with its focus on civil registration and vital statistics (CRVS) system strengthening, data impact and non-communicable diseases (NCD) surveillance at country, regional and global levels.
The Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation's commitments
- Ensure exchange of information and linkages with existing BMGF-funded platforms, partnerships, and investments.
- Ensure BMGF program staff and partners are oriented to the principles and tools of the Health Data Collaborative and identify ways to optimize existing partnerships in focus countries in support of national plans in the context of program strategies and country planning.
- Continue to lead efforts to ensure open data access.
- Serve on the steering committee and participate actively in other working groups as identified and as relevant to portfolios and expertise and join country missions when possible.
Chestrad's commitments
- Coordinate civil society inputs and engagement in the Health Data Collaborative working through the Global Health South network and the emergent Global Civil Society Coalition on Measurement and Accountability.
- Devise and implement an African Advocacy Initiative on CRVS (iREGISTERed) and other stakeholders.
- Support advocacy, communication and civil society utilization of existing measurement initiatives for policy dialogue (national governments, parliamentarians and other stakeholders) and accountability function at global, regional and country levels.
- Participate actively in steering group and working groups.
UKaid Commitments
- As the third largest provider of support to statistics globally, provide support to statistical systems in country and support a more effective international system, focussing on improving institutional and technical capacity and stimulating and meeting national demand through support for comprehensive national strategies for the development of statistics.
- Commit to the principles of the IHP+ and align our funding behind a single national M&E framework.
- Second one officer to the Health Data Collaborative to provide strategic guidance and support the development of innovative approaches for health information and accountability.
- Serve as an anchor partner of the Global Partnership for Sustainable Development Data providing support for global data collaboratives including the Health Data Collaborative.
Gavi Commitments
- Contribute catalytic funding for the Health Data Collaborative to leverage resources and investments of other partners to collectively improve country systems for monitoring the health system, including better immunization data and performance measures.
- Make strategic investments in strengthening country data systems as outlined in the Health Data Collaborative’s operational workplan, and ensure that they are aligned with strengthening country health data and accountability systems and harmonized with other partners wherever possible.
- Participate actively in steering group and working groups where relevant.
Global Partnership for Sustainable Development Data's commitments
- Advocate for the role of data in driving sustainable development at the global, regional, and national level. We build political consensus and broad constituencies to support strengthened data production, access, timeliness, and use, and elevate data issues at important national, regional, and international events.
- Initiate collaboration across all sectors to innovate, build capacity, and apply the world’s best knowledge to the world’s worst problems. Our multi-million-dollar funding initiative supports collaborative data innovations for sustainable development, and we create space for cross-fertilization and learning through our data collaboratives that work within thematic areas including the environment and leaving no one behind.
- Improve data access and interoperability mechanisms and standards. Our Data4SDGs API Highways infrastructure provides an open platform for advancing data use, access, and interoperability.
- Work with governments and other partners at the country-level to create and implement robust data ecosystems. We support the advancement of country-led Data Roadmaps for Sustainable Development in Colombia, Kenya, the Philippines, Senegal, Ghana, Sierra Leone, Tanzania, and elsewhere, using our Data4SDGs Toolbox to support and guide the process.
Government of Canada's commitments
- Contribute to the strengthening of health information systems and accountability at country-level through continued support of the accountability work of the Global Strategy for Women's, Children's, and Adolescents' Health; active engagement and investment in the Global Financing Facility, with $100 million focused on CRVS; and through continued support for the monitoring of the health-related SDGs via Statistics Canada's representation on the Inter-Agency Expert Group on SDG indicators.
- Provide $15 million to strengthen country birth and death registration systems, and their links to health information systems, through the Centre of Excellence for CRVS Systems, in support of the Global Financing Facility, housed at the International Development Research Centre.
- Participate actively in the steering group and in working groups, particularly that on CRVS.
Giz commitments
- Dedicate a 50 percent staff position based in Germany to work as part of the core team of the Health Data Collaborative.
- Participate in the executive management team to help set the strategic direction of the Health Data Collaborative and oversee the workplan implementation (with a view to ensure close coordination with the ‘Healthy Systems – Healthy Lives’ initiative).
- Participate actively in working groups including by involving staff and expertise from Germany’s bilateral health and social protection programme.
- Contribute funds to select Health Data Collaborative activities (to be determined).
- Participate actively in the steering group and work closely with the core team.
IHP+ Commitments
- Contribute financially for 2016 to support alignment and strengthening around country-level monitoring and evaluation platforms.
- Promote a common country-led platform for information and accountability through Joint Assessment of National Health Strategies (JANS), country and global dialogue and monitoring of effective development cooperation (with joint monitoring and evaluation as a specific indicator).
- Participate actively in the Health Data Collaborative coordinating bodies.
Jica Commitments
- Align health data investments and technical cooperation with strengthening country health data and accountability systems, with a focus on capacity development of improving data collection, analysis and utilization for evidence-based decision making.
- Participate actively in steering group and working groups related to national health workforce and health accounts, analytics and data use, and CRVS systems.
Norad's commitments
- Contribute financially for 2016–2017 to implementation of the workplan as a follow-on to the work on the Commission on Information and Accountability.
- Together with the University of Oslo, second a staff member in 2016 to the core team of the Health Data Collaborative focusing on the health facility data systems (DHIS 2.0).
Pepfar commitments
- Contribute financially to WHO coordination role and working groups.
- Globally: Leverage current PEPFAR support to Open Health Information Exchange (HIE), University of Oslo, analytics and visualization, surveillance and surveys, and monitoring and evaluation.
- Country: Leverage PEPFAR investments in 36 regional and country programs in surveillance and surveys, monitoring and evaluation and health information systems.
- Link Health Data Collaborative with PEPFAR Interagency Collaborative for Program Improvement (ICPI).
- Participate actively in steering group and working groups.
The global fund commitments
- Continue enhancing country level capacity through strengthening data systems through portfolio grant funds and through special initiative funds available from the board.
- Align global fund support with the priorities agreed by the Health Data Collaborative to support in-country M&E systems and SDG monitoring. Dedicate at least 1.5 full-time staff equivalent positions.
- Limit the use of Global Fund specific tools and move to the implementation of harmonized country-led Health Facility Assessment (HFA) and Data Quality Review (DQR) processes and tools. Contribute financially for WHO contractor for development of tools plus funding for service providers selected together with WHO, as well as two full-time staff.
- Provide direct funding to support the coordination and technical work of the Health Data Collaborative secretariat (to be decided and confirmed).
- Provide financial support for consultants/firms to help in the development of policy guidance, normative work as well as to support regional and national training and events based on needs and priorities as identified by the Health Data Collaborative and the Global Fund.
- Participate actively in the Health Data Collaborative discussions (steering group, management team, working groups).
Rockefeller Foundation's commitments
- Contribute to establishment of measurement and accountability mechanisms for health SDG, especially for universal health coverage.
- Promote donor, country and civil society support for progress toward universal health coverage.
- Participate actively in steering group and other working groups as appropriate.
UNAIDS commitments
- Contribute a 50 percent staff position to support databases, information tools and dashboards.
- Contribute engagement of approximately 60 country and six regional strategic information officers to support common health data and information systems.
- Participate actively in steering group and working groups.
The United Nations Foundation commitments
- Leverage communications channels and connections with the Global Partnership for Sustainable Development Data and the Data2X initiative to promote increased quality, availability, and usability of health, gender, and development data, in support of the goals of the Health Data Collaborative.
Unicef Commitments
- Contribute a 70 percent position to support database analytics for the enhancement and management of global repository of health data repository with network of users engaged in data analytics, visualisations and use.
- Contribute through support to countries for implementation of MICS harmonized with other household survey initiatives such as DHS and LSMS.
- Contribute through the continued development and maintenance of global health databases accessible on standard global indicators, with disaggregation.
- Link the Health Data Collaborative with accountability initiatives/measurement groups led by UNICEF such as IGME, JMP, WUENIC, Countdown.
- Contribute through continued technical assistance to countries on DHIS2 capacity-building and training; roll-out and scale-up of DHIS2; data analysis, report generation and data use; and integration of external data-reporting tools such as RapidPro.
- Contribute through ongoing technical assistance to countries building programmes that empower communities through district and community-level data use and social accountability platforms.
- Participate actively in steering group and working groups.
UNFPA Commitments
- Support countries for implementation of the 2020 round of Census, harmonized with other household survey initiatives.
- Contribute through UNFPA-managed databases (UNFPAOpenData.org) and UNFPA-generated data (such as the UNFPA Supplies SDP survey).
- Participate actively in working groups and in the steering group.
USAID commitments
- Contribute financially in 2016–2017 to complete activities as defined in the operational work plan.
- Contribute financial support to a West African Digital Health Task Force.
- Contribute funding to MEASURE Evaluation to support collaboration with WHO to strengthen health information systems and to form the basis for the Health Data Collaborative Facility/Community Level technical working group led by WHO.
- Contribute funding to MEASURE Evaluation to support additional activities aligned with the Health Data Collaborative objectives and operationalization of the work plan.
- Use existing USAID health data programs (Demographic and Health Surveys (DHS), interoperability standards, facility surveys) as platforms to operationalize the work plan.
- Ensure linkages to the US$ 200 million annually in investments in data and information systems.
- Devote USAID staff time including an 80 percent staff position from headquarters to the Secretariat, active participation on the steering group and working groups, and several staff to provide technical assistance and country engagement support on a part-time basis.
The World Banks commitments
- Contribute US$6 million to support alignment of and investments in health information systems in five priority countries: Cambodia, Democratic Republic of the Congo, Kenya, Liberia, and Malawi.
- Leverage activities of the Primary Health Care Performance Initiative, now funded for the next three years by the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation.
- Leverage the Global Finance Facility (GFF) including investments in CRVS and in information systems.
- Leverage other Bank resources (WBG Strategic Actions Program for Addressing Development Data Gaps, and Identification for Development).
- Lead the stream of work on quality of care and co-lead the streams of work on development of composite indicators for public reporting, CRVS and Households Surveys methods (including financing of activities in countries).
The World Health Organization's Commitments
- Work with partners to develop a technical package of health information standards and tools to strengthen country health information systems.
- Improve the global health observatory as the go-to place for SDG monitoring data, and align databases with partner agencies.
- Reduce country reporting requirements to WHO in line with the 100 Core Health Indicators.
- Commit three full-time staff to the Health Data Collaborative secretariat for coordination and technical work.
- Host the core team operations, and participate actively in the steering group and working groups.
