WHGI Platform
Performance Monitoring for Action
Measuring Performance, Informing Policy, and Strengthening Community-Driven Decision-Making in Health Systems
What is PMA?
Based at the William H. Gates Sr. Institute for Population and Reproductive Health (WHGI) at Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health (BSPH), Performance Monitoring for Action (PMA) is fueling a data revolution in global health.
Using innovative mobile technology, PMA generates frequent, high-quality surveys that monitor key health and development indicators across nine countries in Africa and Asia—producing rapid-turnaround, open-source data for research, program planning, and evidence-based policymaking.
In each country, surveys are implemented by local universities and research organizations and carried out by a trained cadre of female resident data collectors—building local research capacity while producing data that is locally owned. High-quality data, collected frequently and turned around quickly, helps decision-makers understand what's working and what's not, enabling policies that respond to the evolving needs of women and their families.
How PMA Surveys Work
PMA implements longitudinal surveys and a cross-sectional panel design that fills a critical data gap: collecting information from the same women and households over time. This allows regular tracking of progress and reveals the drivers of contraceptive use dynamics—an approach not used by any other large-scale survey.
While family planning is its core focus, the PMA platform is flexible. It has collected data guiding programs in abortion, COVID-19, maternal and child health, nutrition, water and sanitation, neglected tropical diseases, women's and girls' empowerment, schistosomiasis, and primary health care.
How PMA Data Drives Policy Change
PMA data reaches decision-makers through briefs, dashboards, DataLab visualizations, technical reports, academic publications, and direct data downloads. Here's how governments and partners have put it to work:
Burkina Faso:
The Ministry of Health used PMA data to set its 2016–2019 national family planning strategic plan, evaluate annual progress, and update the National Plan for Family Planning Acceleration. PMA results were integrated into the government's 2018–2020 statistical bulletins, making the data accessible to partners across the country.
Nigeria:
PMA data on DMPA-SC presented at a 2018 Essential Medicines List meeting led directly to the injectable's inclusion on Nigeria's EML — opening private-sector access and securing a more sustainable procurement plan. Kano State's Ministry of Health has also used PMA data to inform its costed implementation plan for childbirth spacing.
Ethiopia:
PMA Ethiopia provides key indicators for monitoring the DfID Family Planning by Choice project with the Federal Ministry of Health, and is cited in the National Guideline for Family Planning Services as a data source for monitoring and evaluation.
India:
The state Ministry of Health & Family Welfare relies on PMA surveys as a regular data source for family planning policy — tracking contraceptive prevalence, unmet need, method mix, and discontinuation to monitor programs effectively.
Uganda and beyond:
Uganda's Ministry of Health used multiple rounds of PMA data to shape its 2015–2020 costed implementation plan and improve contraceptive supply chain management. Under FP2020, Track20 focal points and health ministries in Burkina Faso, Côte d'Ivoire, Kenya, and Niger regularly used PMA data to track progress against their plans.
PMA Retrospective
This brief report looks back at PMA's accomplishments, focusing on study design, measurement expertise, COVID-19 pivot, connections with policies and programs, considerable research portfolio, numerous innovations, and the incredible work of PMA Resident Enumerators.
Featured Institute Experts
Institute Director | Professor
Dr. Philip Anglewicz is Director of the William H. Gates Sr. Institute for Population and Reproductive Health and Principal Investigator of the Performance Monitoring for Action Project.
Institute Director | Professor
Dr. Philip Anglewicz is Director of the William H. Gates Sr. Institute for Population and Reproductive Health and Principal Investigator of the Performance Monitoring for Action Project.
Research Program Officer
Guy Bai provides support for data Management activities for PMA countries at the global level as a Program Officer. Prior of joining PMA technical Unit, Guy was working as a Senior Data Manager at Institut Supérieur des Sciences de la Population (ISSP) in Burkina for the PMA project and among other projects affiliated with ISSP.
Research Program Officer
Guy Bai provides support for data Management activities for PMA countries at the global level as a Program Officer. Prior of joining PMA technical Unit, Guy was working as a Senior Data Manager at Institut Supérieur des Sciences de la Population (ISSP) in Burkina for the PMA project and among other projects affiliated with ISSP.
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Gates Institute at PAA 2025: Advancing the Science of Reproductive Health and Family Planning
Connected WHGI Global Program
WHGI's Research, Measurement, and Data Monitoring Global Program demonstrates our leadership in filling critical gaps in science, while generating new evidence and utilizing research to inform practice and drive the global family planning agenda.
PMA's high-quality data—collected frequently, turned around quickly, and locally owned—help decision makers understand what is working, and what is not, enabling decisions that are more sensitive and responsive to evolving needs.