Guidance on establishing a national malaria data repository

Overview

To control and ultimately eliminate malaria, countries must conduct regular surveillance and maintain systems that can collect, review and analyse timely data. National malaria programmes in endemic countries typically rely on epidemiological data from Health Management Information Systems (HMIS), which are critical for monitoring incidence and assessing interventions. However, complementary information – on interventions, laboratories, commodities, vector control, entomology, climate, population, finance, therapeutic efficacy studies and biological threats – often remains fragmented across spreadsheets, pilot systems and siloed partner platforms.

A National Malaria Data Repository addresses these gaps by serving as a centralized platform to store, manage and access all malaria-related data. It is a strategic tool that strengthens malaria surveillance, planning and decision-making.

This document provides national malaria programmes, HMIS units and implementing partners with practical guidance on establishing a functional Malaria Data Repository. Drawing on best practices for governance, planning, development, implementation, roll-out, training and sustainability, it is based on experiences from countries that have created their own repositories or are in the process of doing so. Users are guided through each stage, from initial planning and data integration to developing visualizations and dashboards, and training personnel on their use.