Overview

The Nigeria Health Information System Policy, published by the Federal Ministry of Health in September 2014, establishes a comprehensive framework to address long-standing challenges in the country's health information system (HIS). The policy recognizes HIS as one of six building blocks of health systems and identifies six components: HIS resources, indicators, data sources, data management, information products, and information use. Previously, these components were not organized to provide reliable health information for planning, monitoring, and evaluation. The National Council on Health (NCH) at its 55th session approved the revision of the National Health Management Information System (NHMIS) policy. The new policy's vision is 'Health Information System that ensures evidence-based decision making for improved health status of Nigerians,' and its mission is 'to produce timely, reliable and accurate data for informed policy making, programming, and resource allocation for health care' at the three tiers of government. An elaborate five-year strategic plan guides implementation. The policy addresses leadership and governance issues. It outlines priority areas including data governance, data architecture, indicators and sources, data management, dissemination and use, data security, and monitoring and evaluation. The policy aims to create synergy with current health systems strengthening initiatives for improved programme management, accountability, and transparency. The document includes a foreword by the Supervising Minister for Health, Dr. Stes Aiiseass, dated October 2014, along with a list of abbreviations and acronyms covering entities such as FMOH, NCH, NHMIS, WHO, NACA, NPHCDA, and others.

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