WHO: New data initiative helps Morocco lift lid on NCDs risk factors

Source: http://www.who.int/features/2016/data-for-health/en/

Rabat’s winding streets have long witnessed the bustling of shoppers, merchants and people from many walks of life.

Joining the crowds soon will be specially trained health sector sleuths. They will be knocking on doors in this coastal city and throughout Morocco in teams of 4, armed with electronic tablets, asking household residents for signs of the main risk factors of noncommunicable diseases (NCDs).

These data collectors are part of a new WHO-backed initiative to strengthen the collection of health information in this north African country.

The Data for Health project is supported by Bloomberg Philanthropies and the government of Australia. The project is working with ministries of health and partner organizations, like WHO, to strengthen the collection of health information around the world. Globally, more than 50% of all deaths go unrecorded, and large data gaps exist for causes of death and ill health, including risk factors for NCDs, primarily heart and lung diseases, cancers and diabetes.

Data for Health is helping WHO to conduct NCD household surveys, using the STEPwise approach to surveillance (STEPS) in Morocco and Zambia initially, and 4 additional countries to be selected in the coming months. The aim is to help authorities to establish baseline data and build strong information collection systems for all NCD-related health issues. Countries will also pilot a survey using mobile phones to test if this new methodology can supplement other household surveys of risk factors.

Continue reading the full article from the World Health Organization here.