National Statistics Day | The “missing data” problem

On June 29, we celebrate the 18th National Statistics Day, the main theme of which is the use of data in the decision-making process. The day is celebrated to commemorate and recognize the contributions of Professor P. C. Mahalanobis, the father of statistics in India and the founder of the Indian Institute of Statistics.

He played a key role in the second five year plan. This day is celebrated to create awareness about the role and importance of statistics and the use of statistical tools in policy formulation and economic planning in India. Statistics play a fundamental role in understanding the performance of a nation. In India, we started celebrating National Statistics Day in 2007, but all over the world, the United Nations celebrates World Statistics Day every five years on October 20.

The role of high-quality data in policymaking is crucial. The quality and availability of health data must be improved. We often blame the federal government for providing incomplete information, under- or over-reporting data in health data sets, employment data sets, etc. However, data sets available at the state and local levels are often incomplete and not available for years. This is especially true for health data sets. State governments often publish reports irregularly, which results in data discontinuity.

If you dig into the district-level data (provided by state governments) that is available in the public domain, there are some important data points missing, such as the maternal mortality rate in recent years. This is especially true for even basic information spread over time with respect to variables related to the provision of health infrastructure by different levels of government, relevant statistics such as various mortality rates (infant mortality rates, death rates, stillbirths), fertility rates, and birth rates at district and local levels. These datasets, if fully accessible over time and at different levels of governance, could play an important role in planning and implementing policies in health emergencies.

Health data in the public domain is limited to districts, panchayats and municipalities (local government level). Another problem is that most local government datasets are fragmented. The good news is that several states, such as Rajasthan, Kerala and Tamil Nadu, have made huge strides in launching digital initiatives in recent years.

Over the past decade, a large market of private players has stepped in to provide data to researchers willing to pay. The private health technology sector has grown significantly due to rapid innovation in digital health, driven by increased smartphone and internet usage and supportive government policies. As a result, the digital health market in India was valued at around Rs 524.97 billion in 2021. They are often a good substitute for government data and can even provide larger data sets. However, the cost of this data is usually very high, making the data a private good. There is a need for larger and complete data sets at the district, block and panchayat levels, which must be accessible to the public, making the data a public good.

A final point to highlight is that local government health data is often stored in regional languages ​​across states and is not easily accessible to the public. All these problems result in exclusion from access to high-quality data by the public, especially students, researchers and academics. Therefore, as we celebrate National Statistics Day, let us remember that the need of the hour is for policymakers and all three tiers of government (national, state and local government) to provide complete and high-quality data to the citizens of India.

The WHO Global Digital Health Strategy 2020-2025 aims to improve health experiences worldwide. In this regard, the Government of India is creating a national digital health ecosystem to support these global advances in digital health towards achieving the Sustainable Development Goals. State and local governments can play a key role in working with the Union Government to ensure the successful implementation of the Ayushman Bharat digital mission, thereby transforming health data into a public good.

(Megha Jacob is an Assistant Professor in the Department of Economics at Jesus and Mary College, University of Delhi, and Sukanya Das is a Professor in the Department of Policy and Management Studies and Dean of Research and Partnerships at TERI School of Advanced Studies in New Delhi.)

Reservation: The views expressed above are those of the author. They do not necessarily reflect the views of DH.