What is HMN?

3. What is HMN? • Global partnership founded on the premise that better health information means better decisions and better health • Partners reflect wide range of country and global health and information constituencies • Partnership focused on health information systems as core component of health systems

4. Market Failures in Health Information Those with the most severe health problems are often those with weakest health information systems (HIS)

5. Fragile and Overloaded HIS Every programme, project, partner has a separate M&E plan Every M&E plan focuses on indicators but not on the system for generating them

6. Data Collected But Not Used

7. Data not trusted or used for policy-making at country level. Sectional interests, donor demand, inertia etc. Decision Making Weak Demand Donors focus on theirs Weak own Health data Little investment in health information systems. Information needs Limited capacity to generate or analyse data. System The Vicious Cycle

8. Lack of Evidence-Based Decision-Making Politicians Budgets Peer pressure Donors Health workers Process of decision-making HealthInformation Decisions Media Community NGOs Special interests Inertia Adapted from Lippeveld et al WHO 2000

9. A New Perspective It’s not because countriesare poor that they cannot afford good health information.It’s because they are poor that they cannot afford to be without it.

10. Why Now? • High interest and investment in global health • Results-driven initiatives, including MDGs, the Global Fund, GAVI, and RBM have increased the need for sound health data • Improving evidence-based decision making: OECD/DAC, World Bank Managing for Development Results; Marrakech Action Plans for Statistics (MAPS); • Local and global decision makers want and need harmonized set of development agendas, such as health sector reform, SWAPs, PRSPs; guidelines and systems for information collection, analysis and use which reduce overlap and duplication in data collection efforts

11. The Added Value of HMN • Facilitate interactive relationship between country and global levels • Focus on building country systems • Encourage donor alignment around country-led health information system development • Provide technical advances, research • Promote networking and information sharing including experiences and lessons learned, south-south collaboration, north-south twinning

12. HMN Goal and Objectives • Goal: To increase the availability and use of timely and reliable health information in countries and globally through shared agreement on goals and coordinated investments in core health information systems • Objectives: • Develop framework and standards for health information systems • Support countries in applying the HMN framework • Develop incentives for enhanced dissemination and use of sound health information

13. HMN harmonized framework for health information • Standards and methods for collecting health statistics that HMN partners agreed upon and align support for improving country's health information system • Assessment and Monitoring Tools • a standardized questionnaire for diagnose critical gaps in health information, through which the current status of the HIS is evaluated against specific criteria

14. HMN Support to Countries • Low and lower-middle income countries are eligible for long-term technical and financial support up to $500,000 in a given year. This group of countries is highest priority for HMN action. • All countries except high income countries are eligible for technical assistance plus limited financial support up to $100,000 in a given year. • All countries except high income countries are eligible for technical assistance in health information system areas for which they generate their own in-country financial resources. These countries can serve as regional centres of excellence and facilitate sharing of experiences.

15. Creating a Virtuous Cycle GFATM, GAVI. President's Initiative, MDGs stimulate results-based decision-making. Health sector reform. SWAPs. PRSP, Civil society, media, use of IT Global initiatives Increased Demand Donors agree Multiple stakeholder Involvement – Health and statistics constituencies support to HIS and statistics. to align and focus on building systems able to respond to country and donor needs. efforts Increased Coordination

16. Some Deliverables • HMN framework available for all countries and partners • Country metadata log book for all countries, linked to international household survey network database • Health information system development in progress in up to 20 countries by end 2005 • Health information system assessments in up to 50 countries by 2006 • Improved health outcomes will be documented in at least 30 developing countries as a result of strengthened HIS by 2011

17. HMN Governance • Partner-driven leadership and oversight • 17-member governing board representing countries, donors and technical constituencies • Lean organizational structure • Mission-oriented taskforces • Small secretariat hosted by WHO

18. African Population and Health Research Center Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (U.S.) Danish International Development Agency Department for International Development (U.K.) European Commission Global Fund to Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria Ministry of Health, Mexico Ministry of Public Health, Thailand Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development Statistics South Africa UNICEF United Nations Statistics Division U.S. Agency for International Development World Bank World Health Organization HMN Board

19. www.healthmetricsnetwork.org