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Advances in information and communication technology have
led to the rapid development of health information systems in Member States
of the World Health Organization (WHO). An increasing amount of information
is now readily available to review and assess health status, health services
utilization, and health outcomes, as well as measure the determinants of such
outcomes. Health information disaggregated by age, sex and social
determinants, geographical distribution, and in time series are readily
accessible by health and health-related professionals and workers. Yet,
providing timely feedback and appropriate information to assist
decision-making by local health managers remains a challenging task for some
health systems.
Based on several epidemiological, geographical and health
development factors, WHO is publishing, for the first time, Core Indicators
2005 for Asia and the Pacific, covering countries and areas of the World
Health Organization’s South-East Asia and Western Pacific Regions. Extensive
travel, trade, migration and mobility of populations within countries and
between countries have increased the risk of spreading communicable diseases.
These factors have also contributed to health problems that transcend
geographical and administrative borders.
The information provided in this brochure has been
compiled from various sources, mainly national health information bulletins
and publications, as well as official publications of WHO
and other UN agencies. Data related to each country has been verified and
validated by the responsible officials in the Ministries of Health of Member
States. All efforts have been made to collect, compile, analyze and present
the most recent data for each specified time period, and to adhere to WHO’s
five criteria for statistical reporting: validity, reliability,
cross-population comparability, data audit trail and consultation with
national authorities. However, the data published in this brochure is subject
to some limitations due to the capacity and capability of some national
health information systems, as well as differences in definitions, concepts
and measurement units. Therefore, caution should be exercised, particularly
when using the data for trend analysis or intercountry
comparisons. For in-depth epidemiological analysis, the assessment of time
trends and cross-comparison of data, readers may refer to other relevant WHO
technical publications and papers. Those who are interested in gauging
progress towards achieving the Millennium Development Goals in the countries
of South-East Asia and the Western Pacific Regions may refer to Health related
Millennium Development Goals 2005, a concurrent publication that supplements
this brochure.
It is hoped that this brochure would facilitate sharing of
quantitative information among all stakeholders on the health status in the
Member States of the two Regions. It should also help in sensitizing and
prompting health functionaries at all levels, to collect, analyze, and
disseminate timely and consistently reliable data. This, in turn, could be
transformed into information needed as feedback by programme
managers, and for deriving evidence to support health policy debates and decisions
for further strengthening health systems in the two Regions.
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