Information System Development

In Egypt there is increasingly strong political support for health sector reform including a widespread recognition that a working information system is necessary to undertake and monitor this reform. This paper assesses the role of USAID technical support to help build health management information systems in Egypt.

This document was presented at the ECSA Workforce Observatory Meeting in Arusha and describes an initiative in Malawi to provide regularly updated HRH information through an HRIS system including the current problems with collecting data, the steps to create the initiative and the indicators they will need.

The Health Management Information System (HMIS) in Kwale District, Coast Province is Kenya’s first computerised district-level HMIS. A joint effort of the Ministry of Health and the Community Health Department of the Aga Khan Health Service, Kenya, the system uses simple, user-friendly software developed by Data Dynamics Limited to collect and analyse data from local health facilities.

This document focuses on the rationale, approaches and vision required for strengthening health information systems, the components and standards of a health information system, and the guiding principles for health information system development along with practical steps for implementation. [adapted from author]