One year after the official endorsement of the new European Programme of Work, 2020–2025 (EPW), Member States of the WHO European Region have adopted a new framework that will support countries in measuring progress in implementing the EPW’s 3 core pillars and 4 flagships.
Timely, credible and actionable data are key to evidence-based policy-making and to the monitoring and forecasting of current and future health trends. The new measurement framework for the EPW is a tool that aligns measurement frameworks from across the Region in a concise list of indicators.
The framework will also help countries as they establish and improve their health information systems for better, evidence-based policy-making that leverages the power of digital and big data.
“The EPW sets out a vision of how we can support countries in the Region to meet their citizens’ expectations,” said Dr Natasha Azzopardi Muscat, Director of the Division of Country Health Policies and Systems at WHO/Europe. “It is an ambitious agenda that relies on joint action from all stakeholders and partners. The accurate measurement of data and indicators is at the heart of this vision and collaboration.”
The framework will be implemented to measure progress across the EPW’s key areas over the next 5 years, while also considering the impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic on national health systems. Member States will report to WHO/Europe on progress made and obstacles encountered in their work to turn the EPW into action.
The framework was developed through an inclusive and consultative process over a period of 9 months. After the EPW’s adoption in 2020, WHO/Europe began a series of internal consultations to critically review data availability and relevance for key Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) indicators pertinent to the European Region.
The measurement framework came to life in close consultation with Member States, who were encouraged to provide feedback throughout the process, primarily via the Standing Committee of the Regional Committee (SCRC), experts appointed by national authorities, and additional written feedback.
Indicators to turn commitment into action
The framework includes 26 indicators and a list of indicator areas for possible future development. The indicators were chosen based on criteria that ensure they are feasible and compatible with other global and regional monitoring frameworks or strategies under development. They also specifically target 2 major issues: COVID-19 and health inequity.
Reported data are used for the majority of indicators in the measurement framework. Estimates are only used in cases where data are unavailable for many countries in the Region. In the coming years, WHO/Europe intends to strengthen data and health information systems by working with Member States to implement monitoring systems to collect reported data for as many indicators as possible.
For more information about the work of WHO/Europe in this area, please contact the data, metrics and analytics unit (euhiudata@who.int).