EDAM: Ethiopian Data Analytics and Modelling Consortium

Background

• Ethiopia faces a triple burden of infectious diseases (HIV, malaria and TB), noncommunicable diseases, and nutritional deficiencies.
• The country has made strong progress in advancing gender and equity in health research, alongside growing national capacity in data analytics and modelling.
• Key gaps remain in using routine health system data to guide timely evidence informed policy decisions, including limited real-time analysis of sex and gender differences across diseases and services.
• Better surveillance and modelling of health threats could improve the responsiveness of the health system and save lives.

Aim

• To build a sustainable, locally owned and locally led national consortium that links real-time health data, modelling and policy decision-making across Ethiopia.
• To strengthen the health evidence pipeline by reducing data fragmentation, improving data quality and enabling faster translation of findings into evidence-based policy.
• To advance data equity by improving how data are captured, accessed and used particularly for sex-and gender-disaggregated data.

Methodology

• Establish EDAM governance and operating structures, co-led by the Ethiopian Public Health Institute (EPHI) and the Federal Ministry of Health (FMOH).
• Conduct a detailed analysis of the health data ecosystem to identify and understand barriers/enablers to equitable inclusion of sex and gender considerations in data modelling.
• Co-develop a sustainability plan with local partners to develop a sustainability plan.
• Build the capacity of researchers and research institutions in Ethiopia in AI, advanced data modelling and sex and gender data analysis.