Launched in 2016, the European Health Information Gateway (Gateway) is a powerful tool and easy way to access health data, information and resources for all 53 Member States in the European Region. The Gateway was conceptualized as a platform to facilitate access to integrated health information, under the umbrella of the European Health Information Initiative (EHII). It has been conceptualised as a bilingual, interactive one-stop health information shop for policy-makers, the general public and WHO staff alike.

Key elements

The Gateway consists of:

• An integrated view into a growing number of WHO Europe's databases (including the Health for All family of databases).
• Extensive thematic pages, with links to relevant policy and analytical resources, stakeholders and partners.
• Country profiles, with fact sheets on a variety of topics.
• An interactive platform to visualize, analyze and share data on over 3 500 indicators.

The Gateway provides an integrated portfolio of tools:

• An interactive search across all content in the Gateway allows for easy identification of information of a variety of types and sources.
• Health for All explorer - WHO Europe’s Health for All family of databases is the Region’s long-standing source of health statistics for monitoring and assessment tools in key health policy areas. Discover the wealth of information in the Health for All explorer, a brand new tool that allows integrated access to these indicators, enables dynamic comparisons and exploration, and makes the data reusable and shareable as graphics, data sets, embeddable parts of web pages and social media messages.
• WHO European Health Statistics mobile app is a mobile pocket statistical reference with essential health information for the WHO European Region.
• WHO Europe Application Programming Interface (API) allows developers to extract data and use it in their own analyses and tools.

All materials and information on the Gateway are available in Russian and English.

The European Health Information Initiative

The European Health Information Initiative is a WHO network consisting of mostly Member States but also global institutions. It has rapidly consolidated and expanded as the implementation mechanism for the harmonization and integration of health information activities in the Region. It works in six strategic areas, one of which is improving access to and disseminating health information. The Gateway is a major digital product of the EHII. Other strategic work areas are:gathering and analysing information that deepens the understanding of health and well-being, with a focus on indicators; building capacity; strengthening health information networks; supporting the development of health information strategies; and communication and advocacy.

Strategic generation and use of information, evidence and research is now more important than ever. Information, evidence and research are key to successfully implement the Health 2020 values and the Agenda 2030. The region has commenced with the implementation of the Action plan to strengthen the use of evidence, information and research for policy-making in the WHO European Region, which was confirmed by the Member States with a Resolution at the Regional Committee 66 in 2016. Its action areas reflect WHO European Region’s commitment to systematically inform policy decisions.