From the newsletter
The new World Health Organisation regional health data hub for Africa covers all 47 member states and brings together health information from fragmented national and regional systems. Donfelix Ochieng’, a health information systems specialist, argues that the hub is an important step but cannot compensate for weak national data systems.
“A continental hub built on top of fragmented and incomplete national systems will aggregate the fragmentation rather than resolve it,” says Mr Ochieng’.
He argues that the hub’s success will depend on whether countries improve data quality and analytical capacity, and whether the platform ultimately translates better information into better health decisions at national and facility levels.
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