What the Network does

CARINFONET is a collaborative network of 5 countries and a platform for improving health information systems. It promotes collaboration within and between countries in the region of central Asia to produce relevant, objective and accurate statistics.

Ensuring the availability of accurate, timely, relevant and internationally comparable data is at the top of the Network’s agenda, as this allows policy-makers to identify the most pressing health challenges and to develop appropriate measures to address them.

CARINFONET works in the following priority areas, with the overall purpose of strengthening health information systems across central Asian countries in the WHO European Region:

• generating and sharing relevant information and experience
• harmonizing and aligning activities
• enhancing access to and dissemination of health information
• building capacities
• strengthening collaboration and cooperation
• engaging in communication and advocacy.

Rationale

CARINFONET was originally founded in 1996, but ceased operations in 2006 due to lack of funding. At the request of Member States, WHO/Europe relaunched CARINFONET in 2014 to support better and more targeted approaches to strengthening health information systems in the region of central Asia.

The Network comes under the umbrella of the European Health Information Initiative (EHII), which is a WHO network committed to improving the information that underpins health policies throughout the Region.

Health information is the foundation of strong health systems, and CARINFONET’s commitment to helping countries is part of larger efforts geared towards strengthening national health information systems. This is a priority area of focus also identified in WHO’s European Programme of Work 2020–2025 (EPW).

CARINFONET member countries share epidemiological profiles, geographical closeness, and a common historical and cultural background. Strengthened collaboration among them will stimulate population surveillance, and research on health and health systems. This work is in line with the Sustainable Development Goals and the EPW, as well as WHO’s Thirteenth General Programme of Work 2019–2023.

CARINFONET’s achievements

The Network’s achievements include:

• organizing and adopting training programmes for human resource capacity-building in the area of health information systems, including training programmes on classifications, information generation and dissemination, data sources, and population health surveillance and monitoring; and
• organizing Network steering group meetings and developing an action plan based on the needs of CARINFONET member countries.

To learn more or join CARINFONET

CARINFONET relies on a core group that provides expert input, and a wider Network comprised of interested parties with no conflicts of interest. Broad membership is a prerequisite for achieving CARINFONET goals, so the Network calls on health information stakeholders operating in the region of central Asia to join.