New WHO technical package to help countries improve health data for COVID-19 response and beyond

Today, as part of its commitment to strengthening health information systems and improving health[1], especially in the context of the COVID-19 pandemic, WHO announced a new approach to improving access to life-saving data: the SCORE for Health Data Technical Package. The COVID-19 pandemic has highlighted the urgent need for timely and reliable data to drive strategic health action. Too many countries still lack both the infrastructure to routinely gather health data and the analytical capacity to use these data for effective health actions and emergency response. “Countries must be able to measure progress to make progress,” said WHO Director-General Dr Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus. “Particularly during COVID-19, reliable data is the best way to coordinate response efforts and improve health in all areas.” Accurate health data are necessary to understand specific country needs in order to improve health and save lives. Data also helps direct scarce resources to where they are needed most. The SCORE (Survey, Count, Optimize, Review, Enable) Technical Package aims to improve the availability of timely, reliable, validated, and comparable health data. For the first time in a single, harmonized package, it represents all the key elements for optimized health information system performance. Simply put, SCORE will help governments around the globe set benchmarks and improve standards in healthcare.In response to the challenges of data availability highlighted in the WHO World Health Statistics 2020 report, SCORE includes more than 90 universally-accepted tools and standards for health information systems strengthening. “Using data to inform public health priorities and strategies has never been more important,” said Dr Kelly Henning, Director of Public Health Programs at Bloomberg Philanthropies[2]. “The SCORE Technical Package provides country governments around the world with high-quality, essential technical guidance so that countries can strengthen their own data sy...