Stronger health information systems required to tackle chronic diseases
19 November 2010
HMN/P. Virot
By 2030, seven in ten deaths globally will be due to non-communicable diseases, states a Lancet Chronic Disease series press release. Shortcomings in all six health system building blocks, including health information, hamper responses to the growing challenge of chronic diseases in low-income and middle-income countries, according to an article published today in The Lancet. Constraints relate to the amount of domestic and external resources invested in health information which at present is insufficient. Reliable information needed for designing health policies for chronic diseases come from a combination of information sources, including civil registration and vital statistics systems.