The potential role of regional and national health observatories in narrowing the knowledge gap in sub-Saharan Africa.

A gulf exists between the many potential opportunities to improve health by applying existing research evidence and the current inequalities in health in the World Health Organization (WHO) African Region. The gaps between what could be achieved and what has been achieved need to be closed – or at least narrowed. Closing these gaps is a major challenge – and opportunity – as they are numerous. As described in the WHO global plan of work, gaps exist in social justice, human rights and equality, leadership and accountability, and implementation and delivery of proven health interventions. Importantly, gaps in health knowledge exist where essential answers on how to improve the health of the people in the Region are missing or incomplete, information is not shared effectively, and education is inadequate or is denied to certain groups. The utility of health information, research evidence and knowledge (collectively described as ‘knowledge’) is to: