2010 Global Health Information Forum: putting HIS at the centre of Health Agendas
22 May 2009
On 15 May 2009, the Prince Mahidol Award Conference, HMN, and WHO convened the first meeting of the International Organizing Committee (IOC) in preparation for the 2010 Global Health Information Forum, to be held in Bangkok from 26-29 January 2010.
Members of the IOC, including the World Bank, the Rockefeller Foundation, Google.org, Paris21, and the Global Fund, reached consensus on the draft agenda for the conference and made recommendations on potential speakers and discussion topics.
"The 2010 Forum is a unique opportunity for the global community and individual countries to show how investment in health information can lead to a better understanding of global and national health problems and solutions to achieve better health for all," said Dr. Suwit Wibulpolprasert, Senior Advisor on Disease Control for Thailand's Ministry of Public Health.
The main conference partners identified three thematic areas for the Forum around which to focus sessions and shape the dialogue. Health systems reform, health financing and health partnerships will feature prominently, while technical work including population-based statistics, civil registration, and quality of data will also be a focus. The Forum will also showcase innovative ways in which information can be collected, analyzed and used.
A key outcome for the conference is to build a shared understanding of HIS as a driver of health systems reform by highlighting country experiences of improved HIS and examples of integrated partner efforts at the global level.