To maintain oversight and promote program accountability to the defined priorities of a health system or objectives of a specific initiative, a strong monitoring and evaluation (M&E) component should be built-in to the program from the start. In the context of health programs, M&E is essentially the process by which specific health indicators are analyzed to measure the impact of the program on the target population and identify gaps in program implementation. Appropriate use of data gathered through M&E activities can guide actions at all levels of health system—from formulating national health policies to day-to-day decision-making within community health centers, even households—to help to ensure that health interventions have the greatest impact possible and can be taken scale. Other basic M&E functions include: documenting program results to provide accountability, for example to donors and ministries; contributing to the evidence base on high-impact health interventions; and strengthening health information systems.
Factors that help determine the overall success of M&E work include: