The backbone of health systems is primary health care (PHC). When grounded in an understanding of the context, challenges and priorities of local communities, PHC can meet the vast majority of people’s health needs at all stages of life. Yet while many countries have identified primary health care as an urgent priority, weaknesses in data often limit efforts to improve PHC systems. Uncoordinated data systems make it hard to see where primary health care is falling short, and the data that does exist is often of poor quality or difficult for governments and donors to understand and use.
A webinar held on February 26, “Measuring What Matters: Data Innovations for Strengthening Primary Health Care,” allowed audiences to dive deeper into a selection of the case studies featured in the Measuring What Matters report, published by the Primary Health Care Performance Initiative (PHCPI) on Universal Health Coverage Day 2018.
PHCPI is a partnership dedicated to transforming the global state of primary health care. We strive to help create a world where strong primary health care is the reality, not the exception, for every person, family and community. Built on the belief that primary health care is the cornerstone of sustainable development, and that improving primary health care begins with better measurement, we work closely with governments and development partners who are looking to strengthen primary health care, providing them with the data, information and support they need to drive evidence-based improvements.
Representatives from four exciting innovations — including CHPS+ (Ghana), North Star Alliance (Tanzania), Babyl (Rwanda) and Yeksi Naa (Senegal) — demonstrated some of the ways primary health care can be supported and improved through better data collection, analysis, dissemination and use. The event was moderated by R4D’s Laurel Hatt and Allyson English.
PHCPI is a partnership between the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, the World Health Organization and the World Bank Group, in collaboration with Ariadne Labs and Results for Development.
