A U.S.-based Liberian educator and scientist, Dr. John T. Wulu, Jr., has proposed a comprehensive data governance framework to guide Liberia’s transition from paper-based health records to a unified Electronic Medical Record (EMR) system. The proposal is aimed at enhancing patient care, planning, and decision-making within the Ministry of Health. Delivering a presentation titled “Data Governance for a Comprehensive Electronic Medical/Health Records (EMR) System in Liberia” recently in Monrovia, Dr. Wulu emphasized that effective data governance is vital for ensuring accuracy, security, accessibility and ethical use of health data.
The session was hosted by Dr. Benedict B. Kolee, Deputy Minister for Health Services, Head of the Health Minister’s Delivery Unit, and Chief Pathologist at the Ministry of Health. For his part, Dr. Wulu underscored that “accurate data ensures the quality of systems and business processes,” adding that maintaining data integrity is key to achieving a strong return on investment and supporting data-driven decision-making across the health sector.
He emphasized that “data governance and management are continuous processes, not one-time initiatives,” urging the Ministry to maintain consistent standards and definitions across all platforms and facilities. Dr. Wulu called for clear ownership of data governance roles and adherence to established policies, stressing the importance of having a single, authoritative source of data to support effective decision-making and reporting.
He recommended that data governance efforts be outcome-driven, focusing on areas with the greatest impact, ensuring privacy protection, and promoting data accessibility for clinicians, administrators, and policymakers. However, Dr. Wulu described data stewardship as “the management and oversight of an organization’s data assets to ensure that users have access to high-quality, consistent, and readily available data.
