Frequently Asked Questions

NDMC is established with the intention of bridging the gaps in data systems and transforming data analytics, evidence synthesis and translation on existing and emerging strategies, opportunities including information revolution policies and strategies of Ethiopia. The center processes and manages an already available data using rigorous scientific methods to create research collaboration platform with local and international agencies. Besides, it draws national research agenda, and develops the culture of data sharing.

• Large amount of health and health related data have been produced in the country including EPHI. However, due to lack of a national coordinating body most health data have been in silos; fragmented, and poorly organized;
• There has been a strong need to create national repository/databases for health and health related data, automating the data systems;
• Despite the availability of data sharing guidelines, access to data has not been standardized;
• There were gaps in data governance systems, structure, reliability and secured data storage;
• There were gross limitations on technical capacity to transform the existing health data systems to generate strong evidence for high level policy decision;
• The need to build digital data analytics and visualization platforms to maximize data and evidence use;
• The need to have health data experts who support the national health data analytics;
• The need to have sub-national burden of disease estimates for Ethiopia and health metrics capacity, and
• Overall the need to have strong-evidence for decision at different levels to improve public health.

• NDMC creates a coordinated and standard digital health data repository that supports a continuous collection, archiving, storage of health and health related data in the country. These data are obtained from various sources including research institutes, NGOs, CSA, VERA, academia, universities, health and demographic surveillance sites, regional, zonal and woreda health bureaus, meteorology agency (climate and weather data), data from road traffic accident registration, professional associations, cancer society as well as from international health data repositories where data can legitimately be accessed.
• NDMC establishes strong governance health data. The center is responsible for establishing reliable, safe and secured data access and sharing platforms, procedures. Besides, it creates interoperable data systems to implement the FAIR (Findable, Accessible, Interoperable and Reusable) principles of data on health data.
• NDMC advances health data analytics using cutting edge statistical, epidemiological and mathematical computations, metrics science, analytics sciences and techniques.
• NDMC synthesizes strong evidence to inform health and health related policies, strategies and programs. In addition, it strives hard to maximize the use of health data and evidence utilization through open data systems and evidence translation platforms.

NDMC has established a highly secured web-based application to share an encrypted health data. Data requests and sharing are undertaken via this secured web platform; the data requester will be given username and password in a separate email to access the data from the web or submit data when there is a request from EPHI/NDMC. Follow the following link to access or share data. https://rtds.ephi.gov.et/public/