High-Quality Data: Essential for Addressing Health Inequity in Southeast Asia

The world has made significant strides toward achieving the targets set under Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) 3—ensuring healthy lives and promoting well-being for all, at all ages. Between 2000 and 2021, an estimated 15% of the global population gained access to essential health services. Despite these improvements, however, 4.5 billion people were still without full coverage of basic services as of 2021, highlighting that health inequities remain a persistent challenge. 

 These disparities underscore the urgent need for policymakers to focus on populations that face the greatest health inequities—often those who have historically received the least attention. In order to effectively direct resources to these high-priority areas, policymakers must first understand who needs what, and where. Making informed decisions requires access to high-quality, disaggregated data—particularly data that tracks the health status of specific subgroups.  

Unfortunately, such data is often scarce. On a global scale, only half of the SDG indicators are disaggregated, and of the 26 indicators for SDG 3, only 11 are broken down into meaningful subcategories. Among those, the majority are disaggregated by gender (87%), while data on age (23%), place of residence (22%), and other important factors such as education, economic status, subnational region, and disability status remain limited. 

This data gap is particularly evident in Southeast Asia. Although countries in the region regularly report national-level health data to major international databases like the WHO and the World Bank, there is still a lack of disaggregated data in tools like the WHO Health Equity Assessment Toolkit (HEAT). Research suggests that national monitoring systems in Southeast Asia could be improved. A study found that while ASEAN countries have relatively good data on health system inputs and outcomes, there is a lack of data on health care access, utilization, coverage of key interventions, and service quality. This means that critical issues such as forgone care and unmet health care needs are often not tracked. A WHO report further identified that regular, disaggregated data collection from marginalized groups is rare in Southeast Asia’s health systems. These data gaps could leave already vulnerable populations even further behind. 

However, there is growing recognition of the importance of comprehensive health data. The WHO has released updated guidance for enhancing health information systems in 2024 and recently updated its HEAT database and toolkit. This year’s G20 summit also highlighted digital health as a top priority, with a focus on expanding the integration and analysis of data from national health systems. At the regional level, the WHO has conducted country-level training workshops to help nations improve their capacity to collect and use health disparity data. 

Several Southeast Asian countries have already made notable efforts to improve data availability and quality. India and Bangladesh, for example, have published reports monitoring health equity and tracking progress in their countries. Nepal has developed a data collection and analysis system for COVID-19 to assess the availability of health resources and vaccination coverage. Indonesia, since 2015, has been strengthening its civil registration and vital statistics (CRVS) system by introducing more structured monitoring of cause of death, including in remote areas. 

While not all of these programs specifically target marginalized groups or cover all aspects of health access, they serve as valuable pilot initiatives for expanding data collection practices—whether by broadening the scope of diseases monitored or extending geographic coverage. Scaling these programs to gain a comprehensive understanding of health disparities will require both political and financial support at the national level. While such an undertaking may not be immediately feasible for all countries, there are still steps that can be taken to move toward more equitable health monitoring and interventions. 

Countries can leverage existing WHO resources, as the organization has made data collection and management a growing priority in its draft Fourteenth General Program of Work. WHO is committed to supporting countries in improving the availability and quality of health data. Countries could also begin by investing in pilot programs that build local experience and create political momentum—key factors for successfully establishing and operating nationwide health information systems. 

Of course, the lack of high-quality data should not prevent action on health inequities. Even fragmented data, when properly analyzed, can provide valuable insights into health challenges. Countries should explore creative approaches to understanding the needs of their populations. One practical strategy is to link health monitoring with existing data systems, such as national censuses and social welfare programs. These systems not only help identify key unmet health needs but can also serve as the foundation for more comprehensive, long-term health data collection efforts.