The Roadmap for Health Measurement and Accountability and the 5-Point Call to Action

The summit had the following objectives:

• "To take stock of the current state of systems for measurement and accountability for health results
• To identify innovative approaches and strategic investments that can strengthen health data availability, quality and use
• To agree upon a common roadmap for health measurement and accountability in the context of the post-2015 agenda"

The common agenda or "Roadmap for Health Measurement and Accountability" (see related summary below) includes the regular collection and reporting of data to track results and develop information about critical aspects of programmes and their effect on the health of populations. As stated on the webpage of MA4 Health, measurement relies on a set of monitoring, evaluation, and information systems that allow countries to assess progress and outcomes in health. The accountability strand involves cyclical processes of monitoring, reviewing, and remediating through measuring performance and tracking resources. It is dependent on the legitimacy, sovereignty, and transparency of governments and their high-level political leadership to move towards learning and making improvements indicated and linking to resources to increase success and sustainability of public health programming. The 15 technical areas on the Roadmap are:

• "Data Sources

1. Civil Registration and Vital Statistics Systems
2. Household Surveys
3. Health Facility Data

• Content-specific

1. Health Financing
2. Health Workforce
3. Quality of Care
4. UHC [universal health coverage] Monitoring
5. Supply Chain
6. Program-specific Approaches
7. Disease Surveillance
8. Health Status Measures
9. E-Health

• Cross-cutting

1. Data Revolution
2. Data Use and Accountability
3. Investment Framework."

"The 5-Point Call to Action proposes priority actions and specific targets for health measurement and accountability for post-2015 that will enable countries to monitor implementation of The Roadmap.  The Call to Action emphasizes the need to:

• Increase the level and efficiency of investments by governments and development partners to strengthen the country health information system in line with international standards and commitments;
• Strengthen country institutional capacity to collect, compile, share, disaggregate, analyze, disseminate, and use data at all levels of the health system;
• Ensure that countries have well-functioning sources for generating population health data, including civil registration and vital statistics systems, censuses, and health surveys tailored to country needs, in line with international standards;
• Maximize effective use of the data revolution, based on open standards, to improve health facility and community information systems including disease and risk surveillance and financial and health workforce accounts, empowering decision makers at all levels with real-time access to information;
• Promote country and global governance with citizens’ and community’s participation for accountability through monitoring and regular, inclusive transparent reviews of progress and performance at the facility, subnational, national, regional, and global levels, linked to the health-related SDGs [Sustainable Development Goals]."

Health, Rights

Click here to watch a 3-minute-eleven-second video whiteboard short on the importance of birth registration, the use of public clinic facilities to collect health data, and the importance of applications of data collection to public health.