Extending the Digital Agenda in Underserved Communities

By Elizabeth Okunlola

The ongoing digital revolution has given birth to innumerable changes in communication, collaboration, knowledge sharing, and innovation. Technology is now a way of life,  and certainly the United Nations’ Sustainable Development Goals cannot be achieved without technology.

Technology has become a major driver for growth and development. It allows one individual to execute a task meant for 10 in an efficient and cost-effective manner. However, it comes with its own challenges, especially in the areas of access, adoption, and application. eHealth Africa (eHA) is committed to bridging the digital divide by promoting digital inclusion through her health intervention programs for vulnerable communities across Africa.

eHA implements interventions that not only improve the work performance of health workers but also their digital skills with new trends and technology that prepare them for today and the future. While creating solutions, workers are educated on new and emerging technologies that create opportunities and make them more efficient in their jobs. Several technology-driven projects like AVADAR, eIDSR, Kano Connect, et al., provide digital opportunities for health workers even at the last-mile to be relevant in this digital age. These projects address issues surrounding free access to technologies as eHA, through donors and support from implementing partners, provides hardware, software, high-speed internet connectivity, and access to a range of relevant work content.

Our programs and projects provide digital literacy services that assist health workers to navigate, understand, and evaluate their work through consistent training. They also promote collaboration and communication by leveraging new media tools and encouraging self-exploration; making it possible for workers to explore digital resources on their own.

The Kano Connect project, for instance, has promoted digital inclusion by creating access to, adoption, and application of technology for work. To engender access, the Kano Connect project provided 1,416 phones and 100 free SMS within a Closed User Group (CUG). It also provided a zero-rated data access (250mb) for job related data-driven applications on the Kano Connect infrastructure. In the area of adoption, the project provided digital literacy services for health workers - 1,416 health workers were trained across all levels (State, Zone, and LGA) in the Kano State Primary Health Care Management Board (KSPHCMB).

At eHA, we work on solving big problems. We believe in the power of technology to make a transformational difference in health systems, and we know that when we do high-quality work, we have the opportunity to change lives in the communities we impact. Sign-up for our newsletter today and get all the latest information on what's happening at eHA.

eHealth Africa Encourages Local Software Development in Sierra Leone

By Jasper Timm & Hawa Kombian

To pursue and promote continuous learning, eHealth Africa (eHA) supports the innovative technology solutions in Sierra Leone by encouraging local software development. Software development remains strategic for Africa's development and continues to widen opportunities in areas including health, education, and governance.

eHA’s Information Systems (IS) department runs a community outreach program in an effort to promote software development as a vocation and build relationships with the software development community in Freetown, Sierra Leone. eHA currently holds software talks and workshops for the general public at Freetown’s Sensi Tech Hub. An extension of this program involves a workshop held at our office with students enrolled in software development related courses from local universities.

Top Left: Ibrahim Bayoh from the IS team shares developer tips and tricks with the students (Photo: Les De Wit)

In September, eHA hosted students from BlueCrest College, a high-tech tertiary institution in Freetown, Sierra Leone. The team covered eHA software development tools, developer tips and tricks, and gave a comparison of life at university vs. work in the software industry - with personal accounts of what got the current IS team members so passionate about software development. In addition,  we got hands-on with the students to tackle a mock software problem. Almost like a mini Hackathon, the students split up into groups and with assistance from an IS team member, they wrote code to implement a couple of features in a simple web application. At the end, each group presented their solution.

The day was a great success and the students provided enthusiastic feedback on the overall event and how it met their expectations (It was amazing!). Many students commented that they valued the exposure to new programming tools and languages in the software world.

“I learned that I should never sleep regretting a day I spent coding”

— Participant

It was an absolute pleasure to host the students from BlueCrest College - they were all extremely attentive throughout the session. Thanks to Madhusudan Mukerjee and Shailesh Kanani from BlueCrest College for supporting our initiative. At eHA, we believe in the power of technology to make a transformational difference in health systems, and we know that when we do high-quality work, we have the opportunity to change lives in the communities we impact.

We are hiring, come join us! We have an open position for an Intern Software Developer with the IS department in Sierra Leone. If you’d like to apply, or join the eHA team in any other capacity, head over to our Careers page.

Reflections: eHealth Africa’s 360-Degree Approach to Sierra Leone's Mudslide Disaster

By Hawa Kombian

On August 14, communities in Freetown, Sierra Leone were shocked by devastating mudslides following continuous heavy rain. eHealth Africa’s (eHA) presence and impact in the country since the 2014 Ebola Virus Disease outbreak and response positioned it well to sprint into public health emergency management action for the benefit of the many vulnerable communities.

Western Freetown community members receiving and counting goods for the area distribution. Photo courtesy of Hawa Kombian.

From activating the Emergency Operations Center to repurposing original software solutions and visiting communities to deliver aid, eHA truly took a 360-degree approach to meet the needs of at-risk populations.

Community Visits

Freetown is home to eHA’s Sierra Leone’s office and as such, the team banded together to show its support for the communities affected by the mudslide. Employees donated funds to purchase necessary items including mattresses, oil, water, sanitary pads, diapers, powdered milk and baby goods, sanitizers and used clothing. Distributions were made to communities in Western and Eastern Freetown.

Emergency Operations Center (EOC)

eHA set up the infrastructure for the EOC during the Ebola response and continues to support and strengthen its maintenance. Following the recent mudslides in Sierra Leone, the Ministry of Health and Sanitation (MoHS) was able to seamlessly assemble and activate key emergency support pillars to manage the ensuing and necessary activities. eHA and several public health partners (U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, (CDC) World Health Organization (WHO), and Public Health England) were also able to craft and validate an emergency response document with clear roles, responsibilities, and steps for action from the perspective of a natural disaster with health implications.

Software Solutions

Key eHA software tools have facilitated the MoHS and partners’ ability to gather data, generate evidence-based insights to understand the information trends and determine solid execution strategies to improve health outcomes. Such measures improve the use of resources towards effective public health emergency management.

• 117 Call Centre (117): 117 was initiated as public health emergency response line during the Ebola response to track and manage suspicious deaths and illnesses for follow-up by the MoHS. In the early moments of the mudslide, the MoHS was alerted to the severity and casualties via calls made to the 117. The mechanism was utilized to track locations and coordinate burials. In addition, the lead natural disaster management office has agreed to integrate their emergency line with 117 for enhanced effectiveness of emergency tracking and response. (1)
• Electronic Integrated Disease Surveillance and Response (eIDSR): eIDSR is designed to support disease surveillance through digital collection and sharing of the prevalence of priority diseases. eIDSR data is currently collected and shared by health facilities weekly for a clear depiction of disease prevalence across the country. Following the mudslide, eHA’s Information Systems team created a mini-eIDSR tool to capture the daily disease prevalence of cholera, dysentery, typhoid, and diarrhea cases from the Freetown, Western Area ahead of decisions of where and how to intervene for optimum public health. (1, 2)
• Health Facility Registry (HFR): The HFR data collection tool enables health facilities to track the level of medical and facility supplies and equipment in store to ensure that there are sufficient stock and materials to enable proper health delivery to patients. As a health prevention measure after the mudslide, the MoHS planned a cholera vaccination campaign and utilized the HFR data collection tool to support decisions about the location and quantity of vaccine distribution.

Learn more about our programmatic expertise and scope of projects from eHA’s 2016 Impact Report!