IGAD calls for increased health data sharing to combat epidemics
Ms Anifa Kawooya, the state minister for health in charge of general duties hands over the ICT equipment to Dr Michael Mwanga, the assistant commissioner for disease surveillance at the Health Ministry on February 28 in Kampala. Photo | Tonny Abet
What you need to know:
- The call was made in Kampala on Wednesday at the Health Ministry headquarters during the handover of information and communication technology (ICT) equipment worth 62,000 euros (about Shs264 million) by IGAD to the Ugandan government.
As Uganda strengthens its capacity to prevent and respond to future disease outbreaks, the Intergovernmental Authority on Development (IGAD) has called for increased health data sharing among member states to combat epidemics.
The call was made in Kampala on Wednesday at the Health Ministry headquarters during the handover of information and communication technology (ICT) equipment worth 62,000 euros (about Shs264 million) by IGAD to the Ugandan government.
Dr Ahmed Bashir, the IGAD regional coordinator for digital health, said the donated equipment was acquired through the disease surveillance project which is being done in seven countries because diseases know no border.
“The equipment provided today is meant to improve disease surveillance at the cross-border areas, ports of entries, national levels, for collection of data so that we can identify epidemics to enable faster response,” he said.
“This equipment was purchased through [German International Cooperation] GIZ to assist every country. This will improve communication between the countries so they can talk and communicate better,” he added.
Information from the Health Ministry indicates that the donated equipment included 47 tablets, laptops, and desktop computers, in addition to 30 extensions, 34 UPS, and three access points. The equipment shall be given to health facilities at borders like Elegu, Malaba, Busia, Bbibia, Masafu, and Tororo. Specific districts to benefit will be Amuru, Busia, and Tororo.
According to information from IGAD, the member states are still struggling with “cross-border mobile populations (CBMPs).”
“CBMPs are groups of people who (by choice or otherwise) cross borders regularly. These include truck drivers, migrants, sex workers, traders, victims of human trafficking, asylum seekers, and pastoralists. One of the challenges they face is the lack of secure data sharing between health facilities in different countries,” reads the information from IGAD.
Ms Joselyn Bigirwa, the IGAD head of Mission to Uganda, said the donation is part of the project to strengthen the capacity of member states. She said the equipment would support cross-border health facilities at the South Sudan-Uganda border and the Kenya-Uganda border.
“This ICT equipment donation is part of a project that is implemented by IGAD with support from the European Union and the German government and together implemented with GIZ. So, this is a long-standing partnership and this is just one of the activities that is part of the project,” she said.
Dr Jane Ruth Aceng, the Health Minister, while receiving the equipment in Kampala on Wednesday, said: “This timely donation by IGAD will bridge gaps of the inadequacy of ICT tools needed by the frontline health workers to carry out surveillance and share cross-border health data.”
“It will ease data sharing across borders and with the Ministry of Health. It will further enhance public health actions that reduce vulnerability to disease transmissions.”
Uganda has in the recent past grappled with outbreaks of diseases like Ebola, Marburg, and COVID-19 among others, according to information from the Health Ministry.
