Overview

Sub-Saharan African countries are dealing with the dual challenge of high disease burden and considerable resource constraints in meeting their population’s health needs.  Public health analytics are critical for their health systems to implement evidence-informed strategies that enhance efficiency, improve equity, and achieve sustainable population health outcomes.

Nigeria is one of the highest burden countries in Africa, accounting for the highest number of children who die before of the age of five years globally, and over 25% of all malaria deaths. Per capita health investment as percentage of GDP is about 4%, well below the stated ambition of 15% under the Abuja Declaration. Despite these challenges, Nigeria is undergoing an exciting phase of national health sector reform, with evidence-informed priority-setting forming a core part of the government’s four-point health agenda.

To contribute to the ongoing reform, AHADI’s landscape analysis assessed the role and utilization of public health analytics in shaping the National Health Sector Strategic Plan (NHSSP) in Nigeria. The analysis evaluates how data analytics is integrated into Ministry of Health decision-making processes and identifies the capacities, challenges, partnerships, investments, and information needs that influence this integration. Beyond the overarching strategic health planning within the Ministry of Health, AHADI’s analysis also examines how disease-specific programs, such as those targeting malaria, utilize analytics for situational analysis, priority-setting, and intervention monitoring. AHADI’s analysis aims to provide actionable recommendations to strengthen analytics to improve planning and resource allocation for improved service delivery.

The landscape analysis employed a mixed­methods approach that included a systematic literature review followed by a qualitative field study conducted between June and August 2024 in Abuja, Nigeria. This approach aimed to explore and document both the existing evidence and the current use of analytics in strategic health planning within the Ministry of Health.

Partners

This Landscape Analysis is part of the "Strengthening Public Health Analytics in Africa (SPHAA)” project funded by the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation and supported by Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health. AHADI is the Technical Lead with the Centre for Global Health Intelligence & Innovation (CGHII) as the implementing partner.

Outputs

Landscape Analysis Report on the Use of Public Health Analytics in Developing Nigeria's National Health Sector Strategy‍

January 2025

Funding

This work is funded by the Gates Foundation.