West African Policy Dialogue—impulse for better data: progress towards better analytics and better decisions

Abstract

In a context of increasing efforts towards the establishment of a Regional Health Data Hub for the African Region, the 2024 West African Policy Dialogue brought together researchers and policymakers from seven West African countries in a two-day meeting in Aburi, Ghana. This report provides a high-level summary of the discussions at the meeting. The forum emphasized that the use of poor, incomplete, or inaccurate data will have negative consequences, regardless of the sophistication of the analytic tools used. New technologies have emerged that can support the generation and effective use of data. Yet, governments in West-Africa struggle to maximize the benefits of these technologies, including genomic surveillance, real-time data generation, and supranational data integration and exchange. Policies are needed that support and regulate new technologies and contribute to greater capabilities for better data.