Oluwatobi Adu 
ABUJA, Nigeria – The World Health Organization (WHO) has launched the world’s first global database for sexually transmitted infections (STIs), providing governments, researchers and public health agencies with unprecedented access to standardised disease data aimed at improving surveillance, prevention and treatment worldwide.
The new Global STI Data Platform, unveiled on Friday, is designed to strengthen evidence-based policymaking by compiling quality-assured prevalence data from low- and middle-income countries, addressing longstanding gaps in global STI surveillance.
WHO says the platform is the first open-access database to consolidate both published and unpublished STI prevalence studies conducted from 2010 onwards, enabling countries to better monitor disease trends and target public health interventions.
Health experts have long identified fragmented and inconsistent data as one of the biggest obstacles to controlling sexually transmitted infections globally.
By bringing thousands of records together in a single platform, WHO says countries will be able to make faster, more informed decisions on prevention, screening and treatment programmes.
Director of WHO’s Department for HIV, TB, Hepatitis and STIs, Dr Tereza Kasaeva, describes the platform as a major milestone in global disease surveillance.
“This database represents a first major step forward in our ability to understand the burden of sexually transmitted infections across diverse populations and settings.
“By making these data openly accessible, we are equipping countries and partners with the evidence needed to design targeted interventions, strengthen surveillance systems and accelerate progress towards reducing the global impact of STIs.”
The database currently focuses on five major sexually transmitted infections—chlamydia, gonorrhoea, herpes simplex virus type 2, syphilis and trichomoniasis.
According to WHO, it already contains information from 766 scientific studies and more than 2,400 prevalence records, covering diverse population groups including pregnant women, adolescents, sex workers and patients attending STI clinics.
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Oluwafunbi Bello 
