Data gaps affecting health-related sustainable development goal indicators
Keyrellous Adib1, Nagui Salama1, Nicholas Letchford1
1Health Systems Department, World Health Organization Regional Office for Europe, UN City, Marmorvej 51, DK-2100Copenhagen, Denmark.
Bulletin of the World Health Organization
|April 30, 2026
Summary
Significant data gaps exist for health-related Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) indicators across World Health Organization (WHO) regions. Strengthening global health data systems is crucial for accurate SDG monitoring.
Area of Science:
- Global Health
- Health Data Science
- Sustainable Development Goals
Background:
- Monitoring progress towards the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) relies on comprehensive health-related data.
- Existing health data systems face challenges in providing timely and consistent information across diverse regions.
Purpose of the Study:
- To evaluate the extent, distribution, and trends of missing data for health-related SDG indicators.
- To analyze data gaps by World Health Organization (WHO) region, time, data disaggregation, and collection methods.
Main Methods:
- A descriptive cross-sectional analysis of health-related SDG indicators from the United Nations database (2015-2024).
- Assessment of missing data proportions, variation over time, disaggregation levels, and data collection methodologies.
Main Results:
- One-third of SDG targets and a high proportion of indicators (41/43) showed over 90% missing data by 2024.
- Data gaps varied across WHO regions, with 12-16 indicators having over 90% missing data.
- Indicators relying on estimates had higher data coverage than those using empirical data.
Conclusions:
- Critical limitations in health-related SDG data availability, timeliness, and consistency were identified across WHO regions.
- Strengthened data systems are essential for effective global health progress monitoring.
- Addressing data gaps is vital for achieving the health-related SDG targets.
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