Addressing The Gap In Noncommunicable Disease Data With Technology And Innovation

High-quality health data is the backbone of strong public health policies. When government officials and public health professionals understand the factors that influence health, they can make informed decisions about how and where to target public health interventions and resources.  In low- and middle-income countries, noncommunicable diseases (NCDs) account for 67 percent of deaths but only 1 percent of global health funding (see page 5). As the NCD epidemic reaches all countries—regardless of income level, high-quality, quickly accessible data that provide information about NCD risk factors are the lever for action. Bloomberg Philanthropies has an ambitious plan to address critical health data needs—with twenty low- and middle-income countries participating in our Data for Health initiative. Data for Health focuses on three broad needs at the country level: improving birth and death registration data; strengthening the link between health data and policy decisions; and exploring innovative approaches to NCD surveillance by using mobile phone surveys. The four-year initiative provides $100 million to partner with countries on these issues. Mobile Phone Surveys Because of marked increases in mobile phone ownership, tapping into this technology for survey purposes has the potential to be a resource-saving complement to the gold-standard household survey—and mobile phone surveys have the advantage of being feasible to conduct at more frequent intervals. The continuous ...
Source: Health Affairs Blog - Category: Health Management Authors: Tags: Featured GrantWatch Public Health Bloomberg Philanthropies CDC Foundation Centers for Disease Control and Prevention Chronic Care Global Health Health Data Health Philanthropy Health Promotion and Disease PreventionGW Johns Hopkins U Source Type: blogs