pGNOSIS train eHA GIS staff on cutting edge Geospatial Open Source Software

In early February, twenty members from eHA’s Geographical Information Systems (GIS) team based in Kano, Nigeria completed training in a suite of leading Geospatial Open Source Software called QGIS.

QGIS is a desktop application that will allow GIS to view, edit and analyze geospatial data from a variety of formats. It will play a large role in supporting the transitioning of polio assets from eHA to the Nigerian Government, which is a crucial part of building local capacity for the polio legacy. Training was delivered by pGNOSIS UK, a UK training company which has a partnership with Boundless, the world’s leading geospatial IT solution company. Training specifically focused on QGIS, PostGIS and Boundless standard for Geoserver training.

“Technical training and re-training is crucial to the continuous growth of our GIS work,” said Dami Sonoki, eHA’s Geographic Information Systems Team Manager. “Continuous training will improve the competence of the workforce, and keep up with the fast paced growth in software and technology. This will ensure our work solves priority healthcare challenges like finally eradicating polio in Nigeria, and ensures local communities get the health care services they deserve.”  

Guinea’s Community Health Empowerment Through Technology

eHealth Africa (eHA) continues its close collaboration with Guinea’s Ministry of Health by contributing to their efforts to reform the country’s healthcare system, with supporting funds from The Paul G. Allen Ebola Program.

In January 2015, eHA launched Guinea Connect in the prefecture of Pita, by helping health facilities produce their very first digital monthly reports. Guinea Connect was designed by eHealth Africa's Berlin based Global Informatics Department and is being locally managed by eHA Guinea’s Information and Communication Technology team. Guinea Connect’s objectives are to incorporate data-sharing mechanisms and centralize health facility data from primary health care providers. The program will enhance the overall health systems communication and allow for rapid and effective decision making.

Guinea Connect is a not a stand alone system, it is one aspect of eHealth Africa's Integrated Community Health Post Pilot program, which was launched in September 2015 in the sub-prefecture of Timbi Tounni. The program covers eight districts in the sub-prefecture. Overall, the program is piloting the use of an eHealth data collection application, automating health facility monthly reports, creating a ministerial closed user group, and introducing an e-learning platform to community health workers. The platform will support Guinea’s Ministry of Health’s capacity building program for its agents.

The pilot program also entails refurbishing six Health Posts, building one Health Post, transforming the former health center building into a residential facility for center workers, and building a new suitable Health Center. eHA will temporarily support operations in all facilities and gradually hand over to a newly created Community Association, which will ensure sustainability. The association will be composed of members from existing community groups and the diaspora.

Local authorities, Ministry of Health officials, as well as the community members welcomed the program and the opportunity to work together with eHA in improving the area’s health system. In December  2015, community members had the opportunity to express their gratitude directly to the Paul G. Allen Ebola Program's Deputy Director Brennan Banks, who visited the project area.   

eHealth Africa Hosts Jigawa State Delegates

In January, Executive Director and Co-Founder of eHealth Africa (eHA) Adam Thompson hosted a team of nine delegates from the Jigawa State Government. The Jigawa State team included Deputy Governor Ibrahim Hadejia and Commissioner for Health Dr. Abba Umar, Commissioner of Education Rabia Eshak, Commissioner of Lands and Regional Planning Honorable Adamu Sarki Miga, and the Commissioner of Water Resources Ibrahim Mohammed Garba Hannun Giwa.

The meetings started with an introduction by Adam Thompson, followed by a presentation by eHA Geographic Information Systems (GIS) Department Manager Dami Sonoiki. Dami provided insights on geospatial data, which is currently being hosted by eHA to benefit the Nigerian Government.

The session included a breakdown of eHA’s GIS technologies, distribution of data management  and open source data versions and systems. Dami recommended that a distributed data management and versioning system using an open source data platform could be used by  Jigawa State to effectively manage and share data. After a brief breakout session, eHA’s Deputy Country Director Atef Fawaz led further discussions on eHA’s other projects and programs.

The last activity of the visit was a comprehensive tour of eHA’s Kano campus. The delegates were impressed with the many facilities on the campus, and thoroughly enjoyed the tour.

Ebola Rapid Diagnostic Test Pilot Training

eHealth Africa provided operational and logistical support to the Ministry of Health and Sanitation (MoHS), and the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) for a pilot two day training session for MoHS swabbers and surveillance officers in Western Area and Kenema, Sierra Leone. The training focused on the implementation of Orasure’s OraQuick Ebola Rapid Screening Test (RST) in routine dead body swabbing. This pilot is being implemented to inform an upcoming national rollout of the OraQuick RST, scheduled for February or March this year.

A common cultural practice in Sierra Leone is for a group of family members to wash and prepare the deceased relative before burial. This practice was discontinued by the Government of Sierra Leone (GoSL) during the Ebola outbreak in an effort to curb transmission. Safe and Dignified Burials (SDBs) were introduced by the GoSL as an alternative burial method for family members by qualified and properly attired health care workers.  The Ebola outbreak has significantly decreased, so the GoSL has began to allow family members to bury loved ones as long as the individual has not met the Ebola case definition before expiring. A swab of the body is taken before the body is approved for burial and delivered to a regional laboratory for testing. Due to a lack of resources, swab laboratory confirmations can take 2 - 5 days on average before the family is informed of the result, and sometimes longer. The benefit of point-of-care tests like OraQuick,  is that family members can be notified of presumptive results almost immediately, which enables the deceased to be released with confidence to family members within the same day.

OraQuick is easy to perform and requires only a drop of blood from a finger prick or swab from the oral cavity of a live patient. A swab from the oral cavity of the deceased may also be used for testing. The tests can be performed onsite, require minimal specialized training to perform, and produce a presumptive result in only 30 minutes. The RST has received U.S. FDA’s Emergency Use Authorization approval. When testing deceased bodies, only OraQuick has been cleared for use.

The goals for the training and implementation of RST testing was as follows:

• Provide a reliable, simple, and rapid Ebola testing technology option.

• Improve compliance with dead body swabbing which enhances surveillance.

• Provide alternate technology for presumptive POC diagnosis of suspect EVD cases, and manage more effectively the number of samples submitted for Ebola RT-PCR analysis.

The training was highly effective, and produced the following results:

• 38 DSOs, swabbers, and surveillance officers were trained on the OraQuick Ebola RST Protocol.

• Participants were refreshed and re-trained on proper PPE protocol and procedures

• The training confirmed the existing surveillance system supports the developed RST protocol.

• Surveillance teams in the Western Area and Kenema will collect OraQuick Ebola RSTs over the next three weeks.

The swab teams will receive certificates of completion at the end of the three week pilot from eHA and the CDC. They directly engage with local communities during the testing process and  have received positive feedback and willingness from households and family members to have their loved ones tested for Ebola using the RST device.