Introducing a practical tool for global indicators of health

Reliable and up-to-date data are essential for proper and timely decisions. However, most accessible data are limited to specific locations and subjects, which do not present the big picture. Besides, data might be manipulated to serve a group of people's political and economic interests. Although the World Health Organization has been developed to act impartially as an international organization, they fail to ignore the supreme authorities' impact. Therefore, they confine to republishing the official reports of the member governments. However, policy-makers in healthcare not only depend on comprehensive and reliable data but also need to figure out the relations between the indicators of health and their determinants . Accordingly, Hans Rosling, a Swedish physician, developed a comprehensive and practical tool named the Gapminder. Rosling, who was previously a member of the Doctors without Borders, provided healthcare services in Ghana when he realized this gap in the health data accessibility. Hence, he developed the Gapminder in cooperation with his son and daughter-in-law. This software has provided awareness about health indicators and the relations with their determinants in a global perspective. Thus, Gapminder creates an updated and fact-based perception of global health for users . This editorial is written to gain readers' attention to the article entitled "Global Indicators of Health: Changes and New Facts," published in this issue. We are looking forward to publishing more articles in this subject area in future issues.