Strengthening Health Information Systems: Resilience

MEASURE Evaluation, a project implemented by the Carolina Population Center, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, in partnership with several international organizations, aims to harness digital data to improve health outcomes in developing countries. The project focuses on building strong, resilient HIS that can provide accurate, timely, and complete data to inform health decision-making. The HIS in any country serves as an engine that promotes better health by providing planners and health workers with essential information. However, HIS can vary significantly from country to country, and their effectiveness depends on several factors, including equity, structures, and evidence. MEASURE Evaluation views these dimensions as a dynamic three-dimensional construct, where each aspect interacts with the others, often in unpredictable ways. The project's work is guided by five key themes that resonate globally: building strong, resilient HIS; evaluating HIS and program impact; responding to special initiatives or emerging needs for health information; supporting information to combat HIV, especially in support of USAID's "test, treat, and retain" strategy; and focusing special attention on women and youth. These themes illustrate the project's efforts to strengthen HIS and public health programming, particularly in the context of the Ebola outbreak in West Africa in 2014. In Liberia, where the Ebola outbreak had a devastating impact, the Ministry of Health and Social Welfare recognized the need to strengthen the HIS to avoid future epidemics. MEASURE Evaluation, in partnership with USAID, began to assemble stakeholders to revamp the HIS and strategic health plan, making it more resilient and trusted by the people it serves. The HIS strategic planning process facilitated intense communication between the ministry's units and external stakeholders, addressing the widespread fragmentation within the ministry. The theme of resilience is critical in HIS, addressing the six essential functions of a health system: to monitor trends, ensure data are trustworthy, make decisions quickly, and within the community of donors and implementing partners. MEASURE Evaluation focused on assessing the HIS and strengthening its architecture, working closely with the national strategy, the upgraded HIS, and coordination among many players and communities. The aim is to create a health system infrastructure that generates better information, shared and used on behalf of all, and is resilient to shocks. MEASURE Evaluation has been conducting and supporting evaluations from its inception, focusing on various aspects of global health, including population growth and family planning, HIV, tuberculosis, and malaria, public health programs, and health system strengthening. The project conducts evaluations of many types, including outcome, impact, economic, and process evaluations, to find out what works and replicate successful innovations.