4.1 Create a monitoring and evaluation plan
The RMNCAH/CAH working group should nominate a lead agency (or work with the health cluster monitoring and evaluation lead if already nominated) to develop an overall monitoring and evaluation plan, and coordinate assessment and reporting.
Integrate agency-level data as much as possible. Individual agencies and health facilities typically collect more detailed data for internal monitoring and evaluation and quality improvement. The use of some of these data for regional and national monitoring helps increase data completeness, encourages collaboration and highlights success stories.
Key actions – monitoring and evaluation plan
Adapted from the Sphere Health Standards (1)
- The RMNCAH/CAH working group and partners work with the health sector’s lead agency to create a monitoring and evaluation plan for child and adolescent health. Coordinate with others to avoid burdening communities with multiple assessments. Joint assessments and findings should be shared with interested agencies, government, and affected populations. Consider partnering with an academic institution.
- Review existing data collection, reporting, and evaluation activities. Consider data from all levels of health services addressing:
- Health status and risks
- Health resources and service availability
- Health system performance (coverage, quality, access, and use)
- Decide on a set of key indicators (with standard definitions) to monitor the priority CAH activities. These should assess: health status and risks; health resources and service availability; and health system performance (including coverage, quality, access, and use). Consider denominator figures (e.g., population and age disaggregation).
- Agree on reporting units (e.g., mobile clinics, field hospitals, and health posts) and reporting pathways, and frequency of submission, analysis, and report generation and dissemination.
Key indicators
- The health cluster/sector has created a monitoring and evaluation plan, which addresses the main CAH priorities. The plan specifies clear indicators.
- Early warning surveillance reports received from health facilities each week:
- 90% of facilities
- Regular production of an overall health information report by the lead health actor. The report will include analysis and interpretation of epidemiological data and a report on the coverage and use of health services. The report will address CAH priorities, including disaggregation of data by age.