The Indicator and Monitoring Framework for the Global Strategy for Women’s, Children’s and Adolescents’ Health (2016-2030) recognizes routine health facility data as an important source of information on availability and utilization of maternal, newborn, child and adolescent health (MNCAH) services and proxy measures for quality of care. However, in many settings, availability and quality of facility-based data still needs considerable improvement.  As part of the WHO toolkit for routine health information systems data, the Department of Maternal, Newborn, Child and Adolescent Health and Ageing has developed guidance that describes a catalogue of indicators for MNCAH that can be monitored through health management information systems (HMIS) data. Analysis and use of health facility data: guidance for maternal, newborn, child and adolescent health programme managers provides guidance on possible analyses and visualizations of the indicators, including considerations for interpreting and using the data for decision-making.  An annex on data quality considerations for MNCAH managers provides suggestions for reviewing and interpreting routine health facility data through a quality lens.

Accompanying this guidance are a series of presentations and companion exercises, including a facilitator guide, that can be used in workshops to strengthen capacity of analysis, interpretation and use of data by MNCAH managers.

Monitoring the delivery and utilization of health services using data from routine health information systems is also critical for understanding the extent of disruption to essential MNCAH services due to COVID-19 or other health emergencies in a timely manner. Analysis and visualization can help to better use these data to inform decision-making and action. Building upon the monitoring section of WHO’s Maintaining essential health services: operational guidance for the COVID-19 context, a practical guide has been developed to provide more in-depth guidance.  Analysing and using routine data to monitor the effects of COVID-19 on essential health services: practical guide for national and subnational decision-makers was created to support programme monitoring—using existing data—to inform program adjustments meant to ensure essential health service availability. Within this resource, a module on MNCAH, including family planning, nutrition and immunization, focuses on using existing routine data to identify changes to utilization of MNCAH services and provides suggestions on analyzing and interpreting these data and on using these data to inform action.