The principles of the Health Data Collaborative are challenging global health partners to embrace a fundamental cultural change in their behavior: to align and harmonize their financial and technical resources.
As many countries in South and South-East Asia have welcomed the principles of the Health Data Collaborative, the Government of Bangladesh, with support from USAID, WHO, GIZ and AeHIN, convened the first Health Data Collaborative Regional Conference in Dhaka last month.
Jim Thomas, the director of the USAID-funded MEASURE Evaluation project, shares his thoughts and observations from the Inter-Country Conference on Measurement and Accountability, held in Dhaka, Bangladesh, this week.
A regional meeting of the Collaborative for Southeast Asia took place April 26-28 in Dhaka, Bangladesh, combined with a workshop on measurement and accountability for health under the leadership of USAID with input from other partners and regional leaders.
The Health Data Collaborative, launched by WHO and partner development agencies, countries, donors and academics, will strengthen countries' capacity to collect, analyse and use reliable health data, thereby reducing administrative burden. A list of 100 core health indicators has been produced, and 60 low income and lower-middle income countries, and their supporting donors, will be using common investment plans to strengthen their health information systems by 2024.
