To describe the status of health information systems in 14 sub-Saharan African countries of the World Health Organization African Region.

Country workshops to assess the system, using a tool for rating/scoring the performance of health information systems.

Fourteen sub-Saharan African countries of the African Region.

Country stakeholders in the ministries of health, national statistics offices, health programmes, donors and technical agencies.

State of resources, indicators, data sources, data management, information products, dissemination and use of health information.

The highest score was in the identification and harmonisation of indicators (73%), reflecting successful efforts to identify priority indicators and reach international consensus on indicators for several diseases. The lowest score (41%) was in data management, the ability to collect, store, analyse and distribute data, followed by resources – policy and planning, human and financial resources, and infrastructure (53%). Inadequate policy and planning (44%) was identified as the most important barrier to strengthening health information systems, followed by human and financial resources (48%) and infrastructure (66%). The average score for dissemination and use of health information was 57% – ‘present, but not adequate’ – with the highest score being for analysis and use, which was rated ‘adequate’. The use of data for policy and advocacy, planning and priority-setting, resource allocation, and implementation and action were all considered ‘present, but not adequate’, with resource allocation scoring the lowest (50%).

National health information systems are weak in the surveyed countries and much more needs to be done to improve the quality and relevance of data, and their management, sharing and use for policy-making and decision-making.