Fighting Malaria Together Newsletter - August 2011
Developing a rapid reporting system in Zambia
John Miller, M&E Systems Specialist, PATH
Strengthened malaria surveillance system allows for timely and accurate reporting of malaria cases.
The Zambia National Malaria Control Centre (NMCC), Ministry of Health, with support from partners, is implementing a Malaria Rapid Reporting System to enable faster access to critical information on malaria burden and important testing and treatment commodities. This system was initiated in response to decreasing levels of malaria in many provinces and districts in Zambia, and the need to understand continued progress in reducing malaria burden in increasingly focalized malaria transmission patterns. The Malaria Rapid Reporting System also takes advantage of the latest developments in mobile reporting technology for faster reporting of information relevant for the Zambian context with continued deployment of data-enabled mobile phone networks throughout the country.
The primary objective of this system is to support facilities, district health officers, provincial health offices, and the central level, including the NMCC, with faster information flows and improved decision-making abilities, specifically for understanding local levels of malaria burden and efficient targeting of malaria interventions and commodities.
According to Mapopa Banda, Public Health Officer and Malaria Focal Point, “Before, this information would be summarized at the end of the month, but with people busy, the summary would often be delayed; analysis of the information wouldn’t take place for three months. By that time the critical period for responding had passed.”
This system offers weekly reporting of simplified malaria information sent by mobile telephones enabled with JAVA-based data entry forms through data-enabled mobile telephone networks to a centralized data server with pre-programmed data quality and analysis functionality delivering critical information and reports back to data consumers in real-time.
Prioritized malaria information has been adopted from existing facility forms used for routine reporting for the Health Management Information System (HMIS). Using criteria that focal persons are already familiar with will minimize training and reporting frustrations and facilitate improved compliance with monthly HMIS reporting requirements.
Says Mr. Banda, “It is making a big difference; we are able to do a quick analysis. We know when there is a problem with clinical cases. This gives us an opportunity to intervene quickly. Having access to information is cardinal and the presentation of data makes it much, much easier to do our work.”
Below is a description of suggested roles for implementing the rapid reporting system.
Role for facilities
- Designate reporting focal person.
- Receive training, phones pre-installed with DHISMobile application, SIM cards, user IDs, and weekly talk time.
- Tabulate information on forms provided, and transmit data.
Role for district and provinces and central levels
- Coordinate selection of participating facilities.
- Receive necessary equipment for facilities to report, and receive user IDs for access to reports and information.
- Review data and analyze reports for better local decision-making for malaria control.
Role for partners
- Provide technical support.
- Support the expansion of the reporting network
This system is available online at http://dhis.co.zm/dhis. For more information or questions about the system, contact the National Malaria Control Centre in Lusaka: +26 0211 282 455 (or 0977 784045 or 0978 527979 or 0977 510414).