NIH to Launch Project to Standardize Data Collection for All Deaths in Islamabad

The National Health Services, Regulations, and Coordination (NHS, R&C) has decided to launch a pilot project in the Islamabad Capital Territory (ICT) to gather data on deaths and causes of death.

This step is being undertaken since the National Database and Registration Authority (NADRA) data presently includes the details for barely 30 percent of deaths.

The decision was made during a meeting on ‘NCDs (Noncommunicable Diseases) and essential health statistics in Pakistan,’ which was held by the Aga Khan University NCDs Think Tank in partnership with the Pakistan Academy of Sciences (PAS).

The meeting was attended by authorities from the federal health ministry, National Institute of Health (NIH), Islamabad, the private health sector, NADRA in addition to Gallup Pakistan.

The National Institutes of Health will begin the initiative, which seeks to promote informed decision-making by officials and build health policies and models.

Experts have recommended the launch of a website for the recording of deaths and their causes and for the development of uniform death certificates. The purpose is to enhance vital statistics collecting and reporting, including mortality data, in order to truly comprehend and manage public health challenges in the country.

Major General Amer Ikram, the NIH Executive Director, stated that they had begun accumulating disease data by introducing the Diabetes Registry of Pakistan (DROP) and that national cancer and cardiovascular disease registries would be launched soon, adding that the NIH was ready to gather data on various diseases and ailments on a national level.