Maternal, Newborn, Child and Adolescent Health and Ageing
We lead WHO’s work on the life course so that every pregnant woman, mother, newborn, child, adolescent, and older person will survive, thrive and enjoy health and well-being.

Epidemiology: data and metadata

WHO provides a variety of epidemiological tools to support maternal, newborn, child and adolescent health (MNCAH) programmes. These tools are essential for gathering, analysing and using data to inform policies, evaluate programmes and improve health outcomes. The key tools fall into three categories.

  • Global and regional reports: WHO publishes global and regional reports, such as the World Health Statistics and the Global Strategy for Women’s, Children’s and Adolescents’ Health progress reports. These reports provide comprehensive overviews of MNCAH trends, challenges and achievements. They offer insights into progress toward global health goals, including the Sustainable Development Goals and help identify areas needing improvement.
  • Data portals, dashboards and country profiles: The WHO Global Health Observatory and MNCAH data portal are key platforms for accessing real-time data. They provide dashboards that visualize trends in key indicators, such as maternal mortality, child nutrition and adolescent health. The country profiles feature helps governments and stakeholders monitor national progress, compare data across regions and prioritize interventions based on needs.
  • Indicator metadata information: WHO maintains comprehensive indicator metadata registries that define and standardize MNCAH indicators. These metadata include definitions, calculation methods and data sources for key indicators such as neonatal mortality rates, immunization coverage and adolescent birth rates. Having clear, standardized metadata ensures consistent data collection and comparison across countries and regions.

These tools help policy-makers and programme managers track progress, make evidence-based decisions and ensure the effective delivery of MNCAH interventions.

Resources

Latest publications

Implementation guidance on transitioning to midwifery models of care

Enjoying the highest attainable standards of health is a fundamental human right. Despite progress in recent decades, maternal and neonatal mortality,...

Digital adaptation kit for birth defects surveillance: operational requirements for implementing WHO recommendations in digital systems 

Congenital anomalies, also known as birth defects, are structural or functional abnormalities, including metabolic disorders, that are present at birth....

WHO clinical consortium on healthy ageing 2024: meeting report, 5-7 November 2024

The 2024 meeting of the WHO Clinical Consortium on Healthy Ageing (CCHA) was the group’s 10th gathering, held virtually on November 5-7, 2024. The...