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Chidawanyika Henry

The importance of providing information on epidemic prone diseases in a timely and complete manner cannot be over-emphasized. In many countries WDSS form a core component of national health system notification and response plans. Countries are required to establish WDSS for diseases that have demonstrated ability to cause serious public health impact and spread rapidly across geographic regions. Ministries of Health, the World Health Organisation (WHO) and other sector ministries rely on accurate and timely information to ensure an effective response. Zimbabwe MOHCW's WDSS is a critical component of the health management information system (HMIS). At least fourteen diseases and public health events that include non-specific diarrheal disease, cholera, malaria, vaccine preventable diseases, snake and dog bites have been reported through the system. Due to an unstable macro-economic environment, Zimbabwe's WDSS has struggled with incomplete and delayed reporting from facilities to the district and national level. According to WHO both timeliness and completeness of data were oscillating below 40% since 2005 through 2011. The MOHCW has measured timeliness as a proportion of facility reports received at the national office every Wednesday, completeness of the national report as a proportion of facilities contributing to the report. Rural facilities have reported challenges in transmitting data to the next administrative level. In December 2010, only 8.8% of rural health facilities had a functional fixed-line telephone and only 11.3% had a functional VHF radio. We document the processes in revitalizing the Zimbabwe, MOHCW's WDSS in the period 2009 -2013.

Objective

Documentation of the processes in revitalizing the Zimbabwe, Ministry of Health and Child Welfare (MOHCW)'s weekly disease surveillance system (WDSS) in the period 2009 -2013.

Submitted by elamb on

Zimbabwe's National Health Laboratory Services faces multiple challenges related to inadequate financial support and skilled human resources, insufficient infrastructure, and inefficient tracking of clinical samples collected by health facilities. The slow turnaround time and poor management of the sample testing process, as well as delivery of results remain critical challenges. Compounding these problems further is a manual system for tracking large volumes of samples. This laborious and time-consuming process is inefficient for management of high amounts of incoming medical samples, frequently resulting in incomplete and inaccurate data. Additionally, health facilities are unable to monitor clinical samples and results in transit, leading to misplaced samples and missing results. Furthermore, although the laboratory service runs on a tiered network system - with lower level laboratories referring surveillance samples to higher level laboratories, processing of samples is not fulfilled promptly. The solutions to these challenges are divergent - sometimes even pointing in different directions. To this end, the Zimbabwe Ministry of Health and Child Care (MoHCC) has identified and integrated a LIMS to improve tracking of samples from the time of collection through results delivery.

Objective:

Understand the challenges that exist in the Zimbabwe health systems, that could be addressed through the integration of a Laboratory Information Management System (LIMS). Understand key aspects for consideration when selecting and adapting a LIMS in a resource limited setting. Showcase improvements in laboratory information management processes following adoption of a LIMS.

Submitted by elamb on

RTI International has worked on enhancing health information and disease surveillance systems in many countries, including The Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC), Guinea, Indonesia, Kenya, Nepal, Philippines, Tanzania, Zambia, and Zimbabwe. Strengthening these systems is critical for all three of the Prevent, Detect and Respond domains within the Global Health Security Agenda. 

We have deep experience in this area, ranging from implementing District Health Information Software (DHIS), electronic medical records, health facility registries, eHealth national strategies, electronic Integrated Disease Surveillance and Response system (eIDSR), mobile real-time malaria surveillance and response, national weekly disease surveillance, patient referral system, and community based surveillance. These experiences and lessons learned can inform work being done to advance the GHSA.

We will discuss several examples, including activities in Zimbabwe and Tanzania. RTI has been working in Zimbabwe for over six years to strengthen the national health information system. This work has included the configuration and roll-out of DHIS 2, the national electronic health information system. In doing so, RTI examined and revitalized the weekly disease surveillance system, improving disease reporting timeliness and completeness from 40% to 90%. Additionally, RTI has integrated mobile technology to help more rapidly communicate laboratory test results, a laboratory information management systems to manage and guide test sample processing, and various other patient level systems in support of health service delivery at the local level. This work has involved capacity building within the ministry of health to allow for sustainable support of health information systems practices and technology and improvements to data dissemination and use practices. 

Objective

The objective is to discuss two decades of international experience in health information and disease surveillance systems strengthening and synthesize lessons learned as applicable to implementation of the Global Health Security Agenda (GHSA). 

Submitted by uysz on
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