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Indicator name:
Medical devices: Medical treatment radiation therapy equipment
Short name:
Total density per million population: Radiotherapy units
Data type:
Ratio
Indicator Id:
3004
Topic:
Medical equipment
Rationale:
In 2010, WHO launched a Baseline country survey on medical devices that allowed to identify the status of high cost medical devices in the Member States, including radiotherapy equipment, both linear accelerators and Cobalt-60. Cancer is a leading cause of death worldwide, killing nearly eight million people a year. Yet about one-third of these lives could be saved if cancer is detected and treated early. Three-quarters of cancer deaths occur in developing countries where the resources needed to prevent, diagnose and treat cancer are severely limited or nonexistent. Consequently, it is important to know the gaps in availability in order to find programmes to improve accessibility. As a result, WHO and the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) have created a Joint Programme on Cancer Control focusing on the needs of radiotherapy equipment in developing countries.
Definition:
Number of radiotherapy units, including the following: Linear Accelerators, Cobalt-60, Brachitheraphy, x-ray generator, and ion proton radiotheraphy equipment from the public and private sectors, per 1 000 000 population.
Disaggregation:
Provider type (public/private)
Method of measurement
Count of medical devices available in the country, divided by the number of population.
M&E Framework:
Input
Method of estimation:
Information collected directly from country focal points from ministries of health through the country survey on medical devices 2020-2021 update, conducted by HQ/MHP/HPS/MDD: Medical Devices and Diagnostics. In case of non-response, Directory of Radiotherapy Centres (DIRAC) International Atomic Energy Agency data was used. The denominator, population data, was obtained from the corresponding World Population Prospects Revision (medium estimates). Previously, the information was collected from the baseline country survey on medical devices 2013, and 2010 update respectively, conducted by HQ/HIS/EMP/PAU. Predominant type of statistics: Unadjusted.
Preferred data sources:
Administrative reporting systems
Unit of Measure:
Unit per 1,000,000 population
Expected frequency of data dissemination:
Annual
Comments:
Data from DIRAC IAEA 2017-21 database https://dirac.iaea.org/ accessed on July 2022
Contact person email:
velazquezberumena@who.int
Name:
Ms Adriana Velazquez Berumen
Links:
Medical devices
Global atlas of medical devices
Indicator Metadata Registry List
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