TEN years ago, about 40 people, including scientists, researchers, funders gathered at White Sands Hotel, Dar-es Salaam, Tanzania a meeting that gave birth to INDEPTH Network. The Network was meant to be an independent international organisation that would provide health, social and demographic data and research to enable developing countries set health priorities and policies, based on scientific evidence.

Ten years on the Network has grown beyond the imagination of those trail blazers who were in Tanzania. Currently, the network is working together with 37 partner community-based health and demographic surveillance system (HDSS) sites in 19 countries in Africa, Asia, Central America and Oceania .

There was certainly a cause for jubilation when INDEPTH Network and its partners met again at the same venue for their 8th annual general meeting (AGM) place at Dar-es Salaam, Tanzania. The five day meeting was an opportunity for stock taking and strategizing for the future with a theme: “INDEPTH @ 10: From knowledge generation to improved health policy and practice.” .

Ten years in the life of any institution is no mean achievement and for INDEPTH Network, 10 years of working hard to bring reliable health information to bear on policy and planning in developing countries has been worthwhile.

“The meeting helped us to reflect on the work done in the past 10 years, achievements made, lessons learnt and general paradigm shifts, if any. There is need to review our approaches, capacities and networking,” says Dr Osman Sankoh, the Executive Director of Indepth Network.

Over the years, the network has researched and collected data in many countries to provide a better, empirical understanding of health, nutrition, food security and social issues, and to apply this understanding to alleviate the most severe development and social challenges.