Abstract
ObjectiveTo assess the availability and gaps in data for measuring progress towards health-related sustainable development goals and other targets in selected low- and middle-income countries.MethodsWe used 14 international population surveys to evaluate the health data systems in the 47 least developed countries over the years 2015–2020. We reviewed the survey instruments to determine whether they contained tools that could be used to measure 46 health-related indicators defined by the World Health Organization. We recorded the number of countries with data available on the indicators from these surveys.FindingsTwenty-seven indicators were measurable by the surveys we identified. The two health emergency indicators were not measurable by current surveys. The percentage of countries that used surveys to collect data over 2015–2020 were lowest for tuberculosis (2/47; 4.3%), hepatitis B (3/47; 6.4%), human immunodeficiency virus (11/47; 23.4%), child development status and child abuse (both 13/47; 27.7%), compared with safe drinking water (37/47; 78.7%) and births attended by skilled health personnel (36/47; 76.6%). Nineteen countries collected data on 21 or more indicators over 2015–2020 while nine collected data on no indicators; over 2018–2020 these numbers reduced to six and 20, respectively.ConclusionExamining selected international surveys provided a quick summary of health data available in the 47 least developed countries. We found major gaps in health data due to long survey cycles and lack of appropriate survey instruments. Novel indicators and survey instruments would be needed to track the fast-changing situation of health emergencies.
Highlights
Fifty-seven of the 232 United Nations (UN) sustainable development goal (SDG) indicators were subsequently identified as health-related indicators by the World Health Organization (WHO) in 2019 with two more added afterwards.[3,4]
The seven non-SDG indicators were approved in World Health Assembly (WHA) resolutions including two that relate to health emergencies
Our study focused on reviewing international surveys that have been implemented in these countries
Summary
The United Nations (UN) Transforming our world: the 2030 agenda for sustainable development is a global plan shared by Member States for a far healthier, more prosperous world.[1,2] Fifty-seven of the 232 UN sustainable development goal (SDG) indicators were subsequently identified as health-related indicators by the World Health Organization (WHO) in 2019 with two more added afterwards.[3,4] In alignment with the SDGs, WHO Member States approved the Thirteenth general programme of work 2019−2023 in 2018 and set the triple billion targets to accelerate delivering impact in countries.[5]. These 46 indicators assist WHO Member States to stay focused and accelerate their progress towards achieving the SDGs and the triple billion targets
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