Uganda, Malaria Consortium partner to digitize healthcare service delivery in rural communities

Buikwe, (UG): Uganda’s Ministry of Health in partnership with the Malaria Consortium Tuesday embarked on a proactive approach aimed at enhancing the quality of healthcare service delivery at community level with special emphasis on prevention and health promotion.

In implementing this strategy, the Ministry has introduced a digitized Community Health Information System (eCHIS) to empower Village Health Teams (VHTs) with digital tools that enhance their service delivery.

According to Dr Meddie Rutayisire, a Medical Officer at the Health Ministry, the new digital system not only automates reporting but also equips VHTs with essential decision-making support and commodity-tracking features.

“Currently, eCHIS is being implemented in sixteen districts across the country supporting 10,627 VHTs and 163 CHEWs in Mayuge,” he said.

DailyExpress understands that Buikwe district administration together with the Malaria Consortium, today, Tuesday, March 19, 2024, organized a stakeholder meeting aimed at reviewing the progress and next steps to follow in the implementation of the eCHIS in the district.

Malaria Consortium in Uganda

To strengthen Uganda’s health system, the Uganda Malaria Consortium provides technical assistance to governments and programmes to deliver the best possible services and maximise available resources.

The Consortium has over the years been able to increase access to healthcare services in remote areas of Uganda, through improving iCCM of common childhood illnesses by providing technical support and supervision to village health teams (VHTs) and community health workers (CHWs).

Since 2015, the organization has supervised, trained and equipped more than 40,000 VHTs to diagnose and treat pneumonia, malaria and diarrhoea in children under five, training VHTs to refer children with warning signs and symptoms to nearby health facilities for further investigation and treatment.