In collaboration with the Ministry of Health-Somalia, we held a dissemination meeting on 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐜𝐨𝐯𝐞𝐫𝐚𝐠𝐞 𝐨𝐟 𝐦𝐚𝐭𝐞𝐫𝐧𝐚𝐥 𝐡𝐞𝐚𝐥𝐭𝐡 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐢𝐦𝐦𝐮𝐧𝐢𝐳𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧 𝐢𝐧𝐝𝐢𝐜𝐚𝐭𝐨𝐫𝐬 𝐮𝐬𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐫𝐨𝐮𝐭𝐢𝐧𝐞 𝐟𝐚𝐜𝐢𝐥𝐢𝐭𝐲 𝐝𝐚𝐭𝐚-𝐝𝐞𝐫𝐢𝐯𝐞𝐝 𝐝𝐞𝐧𝐨𝐦𝐢𝐧𝐚𝐭𝐨𝐫𝐬 𝐢𝐧 𝐒𝐨𝐦𝐚𝐥𝐢𝐚. This meeting was facilitated by the highly respected African Population and Health Research Center’s Countdown to 2030 project, a leading institution in health research and policy. The Countdown to 2030 initiative has been at the forefront of advocating for data-driven solutions to address gaps in maternal, newborn, and child health across Africa, and this dissemination meeting provided an invaluable opportunity to engage with key stakeholders in Somalia.
The dissemination meeting, which targeted key stakeholders from the Ministry of Health-Somalia, UNICEF, the World Health Organization (WHO), and other partners, aimed to present vital evidence for the development of policies and programs that would improve and accelerate life-saving interventions in reproductive, maternal, and child health in Somalia. The discussions were centered around how routine facility data can serve as a powerful tool for monitoring and evaluating health outcomes, offering a reliable foundation for informed decision-making. By leveraging this data, policymakers and health practitioners can ensure that interventions are more accurately targeted to where they are most needed, addressing disparities and gaps in healthcare access and quality.
Furthermore, the meeting fostered a comprehensive understanding of how to track progress in maternal and child health outcomes effectively. It provided a platform for sharing insights on best practices for utilizing routine health facility data, and the importance of timely, accurate, and actionable data for improving service delivery. The meeting also underscored the necessity of strengthening health systems, including data collection mechanisms, training of healthcare professionals, and enhancing inter-sectoral collaboration. This collaborative effort highlighted the shared commitment of all partners to working together to overcome the unique challenges faced by Somalia in improving maternal and child health, with the ultimate goal of achieving better health outcomes for women and children across the country. The meeting was a vital step in ensuring that the evidence generated from health data can be seamlessly translated into meaningful policy and programmatic action that will save lives.
