The Public Health Information Department, represented by the Monitoring and Analysis Section, held its seventh regular meeting with the Permanent Contact Network for Monitoring via video conference on Thursday, July 29, 2024, in the presence of representatives of the member states of the Gulf Cooperation Council.

The meeting discussed a series of important issues related to the development of an integrated epidemiological monitoring system in the region, where the data sharing and quality compliance index was highlighted, and a detailed presentation was given on the quality of currently available data.

Ways to enhance the data sharing mechanism through the short data questionnaire for direct reporting were also discussed, which would contribute to obtaining more accurate and comprehensive data in a shorter time.

Participants agreed on the importance of unifying data sources and analyzing them in a unified manner to better understand the differences in health conditions between countries, and to develop more effective health strategies.

In a related context, the latest developments in the initiative to calculate the Healthy Life Expectancy Index were reviewed, as work is currently underway with the United Arab Emirates and the Sultanate of Oman to issue brief reports on the best methodologies and sources for calculating this important index.
This regional cooperation aims to build a unified and comprehensive database on public health in the GCC countries, which contributes to making informed decisions in the field of public health, and improving the quality of health care provided to citizens.