Category: Policies & Practices
Health workers in Tanzania become data use champions, set national example
Mar 1, 2018
When the BID Initiative first began working in Tanzania to introduce data quality and use interventions alongside the Ministry of Health, Community Development, Gender, Elderly and Children (MOHCDGEC), using data was not an everyday practice for most health care workers (HCWs). Many were more excited about the new devices such as the electronic immunization registry, than they were about using this information to improve decision-making. After implementing a change management strategy and thorough training led by district officials, HCWs began to realize the value of using data for decision-making. They began asking: Where do I find all the registered and vaccinated children? What should I do if a child misses a vaccine and I have a red alert on my coverage report? And how do I find children scheduled for vaccination the following month?
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Planning for compasses, not maps: The potential of adaptive management for international development
Feb 23, 2018
International development has historically followed a top-down process that implements a static set of interventions guided by standardized practices, even as programs fail and circumstances change. But progress isn’t always linear. It’s often two steps forward and one step back – and sometimes it moves sideways.
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BID partners with Catholic Medical Mission Board to expand to nine health facilities in Western Province
Feb 16, 2018
The Catholic Medical Mission Board (CMMB) is a charity that has operated in Zambia since 1965 with the specific mandate to deliver sustainable, quality health solutions to women and children. In Zambia, CMMB works in Central, Copperbelt, Luapula, Lusaka, Northwestern and Western provinces under four projects in the health and community development sectors. CMMB’s decision to partner with the Ministry of Health (MOH) and the BID Initiative to roll out the Zambia Electronic Immunisation Registry (ZEIR) to several health facilities in Western Province was a natural extension of its mission to benefit children in the province.
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Tanzania migrates data from TIIS to TImR
Feb 7, 2018
Progress and growth is often a nonlinear process. Sometimes it’s accompanied by significant gains and great leaps forward, and other times it is slow and steady. In keeping with this trajectory, the BID Initiative’s mission to improve data quality and data use in Tanzania and Zambia has – at times – been a rollercoaster of a ride. But both our successes and challenges have helped us get to where we are today.
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“It doesn’t have to be like ripping off a Band-Aid”: Transitioning from paper to digital records
Jan 24, 2018
During the 2017 Global Digital Health Forum session on Injecting Digital Technology into Old-School Immunization Systems, Dawn Seymour from PATH discussed the value of electronic immunization registries. Despite the benefits of such registries, including more accurate data, she and her colleagues Sang Dao Dinh and Hieu Tran explained some challenges when transitioning from legacy, paper-based systems in Zambia, Tanzania, and Vietnam to digital versions.
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New efforts to improve immunization data quality and use
Jan 4, 2018
As the BID Initiative initial grant comes to a close, we have been exploring ways to leverage our current learnings and further explore knowledge gaps around data use. PATH was recently awarded a grant in partnership with the Pan American Health Organization (PAHO) from the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation to do just this.
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Highlights from 2017
Dec 27, 2017
This year was our final full year of the BID Initiative as our initial grant ends in April 2018. As we continue full speed ahead into the new year, we are taking a moment to look back at some of the many highlights of 2017.
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With expansion to Kilimanjaro, BID launches third region in Tanzania
Dec 20, 2017
Earlier this month, the BID Initiative expanded to its third region in Tanzania, the Kilimanjaro region. This is a tremendous step and embodies our “learn fast, fail fast, share fast” core value by taking lessons learned from Arusha and Tanga region and building them into the Kilimanjaro rollout. Rollout to the Kilimanjaro region provides an opportunity for the government of Tanzania to take an ongoing leading role as they begin to plan to scale data quality and use interventions to the rest of the country.
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A snapshot of this year’s BLN Discussion Meeting
Dec 15, 2017
During the BID Learning Network (BLN) Discussion Meeting held in Lusaka, Zambia between September 19 and 22, more than 12 country delegates and stakeholders convened from across seventeen countries. Participants heard from various countries about their progress toward implementing electronic health systems and visited health facilities implementing Zambia’s Electronic Immunization Registry (ZEIR).
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Champions and super users: ‘Born before computers,’ health workers are driving BID’s work
Nov 22, 2017
A common misconception about some older health workers is they might not be able to grasp new technologies. In some cases, these staff members fear there is a steep learning curve to master the tools, or the electronic tools might take over some of their tasks, making them redundant. There are several health workers shattering these misconceptions. They even joke about their age, calling themselves ‘born before computers’ or ‘BBCs.’
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