Health data and information is now freely available to the public through the World Health Organization (WHO) European Health Information Gateway.
The Gateway aims to provide health information and data in an easy to use format for policymakers, with the broader aim of generating information on health and well-being, improving access to and dissemination of health information, supporting development of health information networks, and reducing health inequalities.
15 April 2016: Health data and information are now freely available to the public through the World Health Organization (WHO) European Health Information Gateway. The Gateway aims to provide health information and data in an easy to use format for policymakers, with the broader aim of generating information on health and well-being, improving access to and dissemination of health information, supporting development of health information networks, and reducing health inequalities.
The Gateway will support these goals by providing policymakers and data analysts with the information they need to achieve WHO’s health policy for Europe, Health 2020, which aims to improve health and well-being, reduce health inequities and ensure universal health coverage (UHC). The data tool allows users to customize the data they wish to see, analyze member States’ progress on Health 2020 targets and indicators, rank and compare health information, and extract data.
The Gateway features an interactive section with country profiles and data sets using WHO data, the Health 2020 monitoring framework and the Health Behaviour in School-age Children (HBSC) surveys. Additional data sources include WHO/Europe joint data collections with the European Commission (EC) and Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) as well as data sets from UN Development Programme (UNDP) and UN Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO).
The Gateway also provides an application programming interface (API) for analysts, programmers and other to access the latest data when programming dashboards. Users can also access the Gateway through a mobile application that makes the information available on phones and tablets. WHO initially launched the Gateway for internal use and has now made it publicly available.
The Gateway may also contribute to monitoring progress of Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) 3 to ensure healthy lives and promote well-being for all at all ages. [WHO Europe Press Release] [European Health Information Gateway] [WHO Europe Website] [SDG Website]