INDEPTH Network

Effective social and health policies depend on monitoring and understanding of health, ecological, and demographic data in their local and regional contexts. The INDEPTH Network comprises forty-two health and demographic surveillance systems (HDSSs) in nineteen countries. Together, these HDSS sites collect health, demographic, and other data on nearly 3 million people during regular visits to households in geographically defined areas. Longitudinal data on these households, some tracked for decades, are important for studies exploring how policies and programs affect people’s well-being. The HDSS sites cover rural and urban populations with diverse social, health, and development contexts, providing a broad platform for comparative research. Unrestricted funding would enable the Network to investigate, analyze, inform, and contribute to global attempts to improve the health and well-being of populations in low- and middle-income countries. Among the core functions of the Accra-based secretariat of the Network are coordinating cross-site activities; organizing capacity-strengthening workshops and the annual conference; ensuring data quality; and sharing research results and best practices with policymakers and the scientific community.