Mission: We provide a collaborative platform that leverages and aligns technical and financial resources (at all levels) to country owned strategies and plans for collecting, storing, analysing and using data to improve health outcomes, with specific focus on SDG targets and communities that are left behind.
Background: The Health Data Collaborative (HDC) was launched in March 2016 following a 2015 high-level summit on Measurement and Accountability for Results in Health, endorsement in a 2015 Roadmap for Health Measurement and Accountability and a 5-Point Call to action.
Objectives:
Principles:
Using a strong foundation of evidence and resources, the Health Data Collaborative will achieve a measurable impact on health information systems strengthening in countries using three core strategies:
1) coordination and alignment,
2) innovation and new technology, and
3) capacity building.
Together, these three areas will contribute to greater alignment amongst donors and partners with national Monitoring and Evaluation plans, increase country capacity to introduce new technologies at a national and subnational level, and build sustained institutional capacity for data collection, reporting and use. The result will be decreased reporting burden for countries, a more harmonized approach to global data reporting, a culture of innovation and more efficient use of resources. Ultimately, this will lead to improved quality and availability of health data and the ability for countries to consistently and accurately report on progress towards the health-related SDGs.
Added value of HDC for countries:
Country engagement:
The HDC approach to country engagement will be country-led and country-driven. This includes country participation in HDC governance with national governments acting as a measurement and accountability mechanism for tracking progress against the SDGs. Country engagement may also go beyond national boundaries and encompass regional networks and observatories.
Countries can engage with HDC in four key ways:
Expected outcomes include: 1) strengthened coordination and alignment, 2) innovation and new technologies and 3) capacity building for health information systems. It is expected that this will decrease reporting burden and fragmentation, increase innovation in local contexts and increase investment efficiency and capacities of data use.
Countries: HDC is open to any country through the HDC secretariat. Countries that have already requested HDC support include Malawi, Cameroon, Kenya, Tanzania, Uganda, Myanmar, Indonesia and Bangladesh.
Monitoring: HDC performance will be measured through achievement of annual progress report-based milestones on specific activities. These will be tracked and reported on annually, related to the workplan and include indicators on global and country level activities.
Evaluation: An independently contracted objective evaluation in 2023 will support revision of the HDC functions, mission, objectives and theory of change, to ensure increase alignment with country HIS and SDG targets.
SCORE as a potential overarching framework for HIS and tools: The 2020 SCORE report provides an opportunity for HDC partners and countries to consider health information gaps and prioritize actions and resource allocations.