Health Data Preservation Project
AHCJ is part of a growing coalition of news nonprofits, journalism scholars and others working to conserve and protect vital health data that was previously publicly available on federal websites. Let us know if there are resources we should add to this page by contacting Andrea Waner at andrea@healthjournalism.org.
What happened?
Following a Jan. 29 memo, staff at several federal agencies are purging any content related to “gender ideology.” This also affects wide swaths of data related to racial and ethnic health disparities, LGBTQIA+ health, reproductive health, climate and environmental justice. While some of the data have been restored, many remain inaccessible outside of third-party archival sites — and it’s possible any restored data could have been erased or corrupted.
These datasets have historically been freely available to the public and have helped countless journalists, researchers, students, public officials and more. Their sudden removal impairs journalists’ ability to give the public essential and timely health information — which could cost lives during natural disasters, severe weather events, pandemics and more.
Together, we can help prevent some of that damage.
Background reading
Where can you find the data?
Use these resources to find archived public health data. If you have resources or suggestions to add to this list, contact Andrea Waner at andrea@healthjournalism.org.
How can you help?
Here are several ways you can assist the Health Data Preservation Project. This undertaking is an ongoing one — and we can’t do it alone.