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Data for Health Equity: Unlocking Health for All

March 31, 2020
Grantee Impact Story
Author Naveen Rao, MD Estelle Willie
Published DateMarch 31, 2020

Raj speaking to audience at UNGA

Overview

Recognizing that multisector collaboration will be key to leveraging data-driven tools to improve health in every community, we convened a cross-sector panel of technologists, global health practitioners and government officials to launch our Precision Public Health initiative.  

Data for Health Equity: Unlocking Health for All

On the sidelines of the 2019 UN General Assembly, we joined principal partner UNICEF and collaborators to announce the launch of our $100 million Precision Public Health Initiative to harness the power of data and data science to reduce inequities in global health. We also sought to create a space for multiple sectors to interact and discuss further avenues for collaboration and synchronization.

one woman and man speaking on stage
Dr. Rajiv J. Shah, President of The Rockefeller Foundation and Henrietta Fore, Executive Director of UNICEF

Our president, Dr. Rajiv J. Shah shared his optimism for data innovation to improve health outcomes, citing its role in driving a turning point in the West African Ebola outbreak. Raj and Henrietta Fore, UNICEF’s Executive Director, also spoke about their shared commitment to community health and the importance of working across sectors.

 

Panel with Muhamed Pate

During a panel discussion, partners lamented longstanding barriers to implementing data-driven health interventions but also acknowledged global interest. Government leaders and technological experts identified opportunities to improve access and stakeholder interaction, and raised challenges we’ll face in designing these innovations.

 

Panel with Hema Budaraju

In remarks shared on behalf of the World Health Organization’s Director-General Dr. Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, Dr. Samira Asma encouraged quick action to increase coordination and aggregate existing data sources across populations and subgroups.

By catalyzing new conversations, identifying areas for collaboration and establishing cross-sector understanding, our event sought to jumpstart action to close the digital health divide. The convening emphasized the importance of bold efforts such as the Precision Public Health initiative and reminded us that work in this space must thoughtfully target the world’s most vulnerable populations.

  • Death does not wait. People need health care and they need it immediately. For data to be useful for decision-making, it has to be real-time data.
    Hon. Minister Dr. Jane Ruth Aceng
    Minister of Health, Republic of Uganda
The Rockefeller Foundation and UNICEF held an event during UNGA exploring the potential of data to revolutionize health around the world. We’re pleased to feature remarks from: • Dr. Rajiv J.Shah, The Rockefeller Foundation • Ms. Henrietta Fore, UNICEF • Dr. Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, World Health Organization • Dr. Seth Berkley, Gavi, the Vaccine Alliance […]

Meet our Partners & Grantees

  • Timely, reliable and disaggregated data is a powerful tool that can help us make life-saving decisions and prevent epidemics before they happen.
    Henrietta Fore
    Executive Director, UNICEF
  • The data equity gap will continue to widen until we act to close it. Now is the time for multisector collaboration focused no our poorest and most marginalized communities.
    Dr. Seth Berkley
    CEO, Gavi, the Vacine Alliance
  • Death does not wait. People need health care and they need it immediately. For data to be useful for decision-making, it has to be real-time data.
    Henrietta Fore
    Executive Director, UNICEF
  • Quality data is essential to design the right programs, reach the right people and track the right solutions. Without good data, we remain in the dark.
    Peter Sands
    Executive Director, The Global Fund to Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria
  • We can use precision public health to improve the efficiency of the resources that we are deploying, in terms of policies, programs and management of implementation, but also on the service-delivery side.
    Dr. Muhammad Pate
    Global Director, Health, Nutrition and Population; The Global Financing Facility supported by the World Bank
  • Until now there has been insufficient coordination among global health and development agencies on data and digital systems, but reliable, timely and actionable data is essential to achieving universal health coverage and other health targets.
    Dr. Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus
    Director-General, World Health Organization

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