Nina Gerlach

The Department of Maternal, Newborn, Child, Adolescent Health and Ageing of the World Health Organization (WHO) convened a global consultation on the standardisation of health facility data recording and reporting forms for maternal, newborn and child health and linkages to home-based records from 17 to 19 September 2024. Representatives from ministries of health, academia, non-governmental organizations, United Nation Agencies, as well as donors attended in the meeting. 

During the discussion, it was emphasized that the home-based record is one tool in the broader health information system, and it should not be viewed in isolation. Any decisions made related to the content in the facility register needs to generate a discussion about whether the information has already been included in the country’s home-based records or other reporting tools and whether the overlap is necessary. 

It was proposed that WHO could develop global templates with core minimum data elements to record in home-based records for maternal, newborn and child health, which countries can adapt based on their context, objectives and epidemiology. Format and functionality considerations for digital and paper-based home-based records were also discussed, including size, privacy and accessibility issues.

As a next step, WHO proposes to standardize maternal, newborn and child health registers. Home-based record experts will remain engaged in the discussions to ensure home-based records are considered in the process.