The Data Innovation, Program Implementation, and Community Action (DIPICA) Observatory for Surgical, Anesthesia, and Obstetric (SAO) Care in India convened in December 2024 in New Delhi. This two-day program brought together experts from global surgery, public health, health policy, and clinical practice to address planned challenges in SAO care, focusing on data-driven approaches, sustainable financing, and workforce development. The discussions emphasized leveraging data to strengthen SAO care systems by creating practical data products for localized planning and community engagement. Participants advocated for dynamic observatories to support data-driven research and policy implementation, making SAO care more accessible and efficient. Sustainable financing emerged as a key focus, with experts discussing innovative approaches that move beyond conventional models. Community-based solutions, decentralized funding, and performance-based models were discussed as strategies to optimize resource allocation. Establishing partnerships involving government, private, and community sectors was highlighted as crucial for achieving financial sustainability, particularly in underserved areas. Workforce development discussions addressed competency-based training and task-sharing initiatives to reduce disparities. The attendees agreed on the need for structured training to enhance surgical skills, especially for general practitioners in rural areas. Regulatory policies on task-sharing and task-shifting were considered essential to maintaining care quality while expanding access. Improving trauma care and emergency response through targeted training and rural workforce retention also remained key priorities. Advocacy efforts focused on integrating SAO care into national health priorities through data-driven communication and public engagement. The observatory aims to sustain progress through collaborative research, advocacy, and policy dialogues to ensure equitable, accessible, and high-quality SAO care across India.

Climate change is increasingly recognised as a public health crisis, with extreme weather events intensifying the risk of climate-sensitive diseases and placing additional strain on already vulnerable health systems. Integrating climate and health data is critical to anticipating these risks and strengthening public health preparedness and response. This report presents outcomes from the 9th session of the WHO Pandemic and Epidemic Intelligence Innovation Forum, co-hosted with Data.org, which convened experts from academia, public health, and civil society to explore barriers and solutions to integrating climate and health data for decision-making. Participants from institutions including Data.org, the University of Cape Town’s Climate System Analysis Group, New York University, Pontificia Universidad Javeriana, and SilverLining shared insights on the use of downscaled climate models, cloud-based infrastructures, and cross-sectoral collaboration.Key themes included the need to move from a data-first to a decision-first approach; democratise access to high-resolution climate data; address inequities in funding and analytical capacity, particularly in the Global South; and foster interdisciplinary communities of practice. Challenges such as incompatible data structures, limited local capacity, and inequitable access to computational resources were addressed through innovative examples such as cloud-based climate stacks, integrated forecasting tools, and capacity-building hubs. Moving forward, the forum emphasised strengthening technical infrastructure, data interoperability, and local empowerment as essential to bridging climate and health disciplines and ensuring equitable, data-driven public health responses in a warming world.

BackgroundNon-communicable diseases (NCD) represent a significant and growing global health challenge, disproportionately affecting low- and middle-income countries (LMICs) like Pakistan. Despite their profound public health and economic implications, efforts to address NCD remain fragmented and insufficient. Collaborative platforms play a crucial role in fostering innovation and shaping policies to tackle this crisis effectively. Addressing the significant gaps in NCD initiatives and interventions in LMICs, particularly in Pakistan, the Aga Khan University (AKU), organized a one-day symposium, AKUPI NCDs Research Symposium: A Dialogue on NCDs. This symposium convened policy makers and public health experts from both local and international institutions. This paper synthesizes expert recommendations from a national symposium designed to identify actionable strategies for NCD prevention and control in Pakistan.MethodsFive expert panel discussions were conducted on themes critical for Pakistan: cardiovascular health, cancer prevention, mental health, economic perspectives, and sustainable urban design. The discussions were transcribed and analyzed using Braun and Clarke's thematic analysis framework.FindingsThe analysis of discussions from over 30 national and international experts yielded 23 distinct themes. Key recommendations included: 1) Legislating a National NCD Act to establish dedicated units; 2) Shifting resources from tertiary to primary prevention, including integrating CVD risk assessment into existing Lady Health Worker programs; 3) Implementing task-shifting for mental health first aid; 4) Launching targeted, community-co-designed anti-stigma campaigns; and 5) Mandating sustainable urban design principles like the '3–30-300' rule. A critical gap was the absence of dedicated NCD units within the health system and a national policy for NCD and mental health.ConclusionThe symposium achieved a multi-sectoral expert consensus on a prioritized agenda. These insights provide a clear roadmap for policymakers, emphasizing that effective NCD control requires moving beyond siloed healthcare interventions to address broader social, economic, and environmental determinants through concrete, context-specific policies.Supplementary InformationThe online version contains supplementary material available at 10.1186/s12919-025-00350-4.

Faculty who are interested in leading grants, education and outreach projects, and other initiatives need evidence to make data-based decisions and demonstrate successes. Evaluations are essential for supporting these efforts and are often required to obtain funding. In fact, a strong evaluation plan within a proposal can ensure alignment between clearly constructed goals and activities in order to promote the likelihood of a project’s success as well as provide reviewers with insight into how the faculty plans to use data in order to make midcourse corrections to ensure success. Once faculty learn how evaluation works and can support the achievement of their research and educational goals, they will be better prepared to successfully plan, implement, and improve projects. In this article, we describe the importance of evaluation, considerations when planning evaluations, and recommendations for working effectively with external evaluators.