Strengthening health information management in an East African country using external training materials

Abstract

The latest evaluation of the World Health Organization (WHO) on the health situation in Africa recognizes that District Health Management Teams (DHMT) are not as efficient and effective at delivering primary healthcare as they could be. The ‘weakness of information support is acknowledged by most member states as a persistent obstacle to vigorous and objective management’ [1]. A shift towards decentralization in many low-income countries has meant that more skills are demanded of primary healthcare (PHC) managers including data and information handling at all levels of the healthcare system [2]. Ministries of Health (MOH) are changing from centralized reporting health information systems, to health management information systems (HMIS), with emphasis on managers utilizing information at the point of collection. The new information management strategies are intended to promote an informational approach to management at the district and operational health service level. Organizations that have an interest in training health service managers also recognize the need for more skills, and the Aga Khan Foundation (AKF) initiated the development of a training package for PHC managers known as the Primary Healthcare Management Advancement Programme (PHC MAP). © 2000, Sage Publications. All rights reserved.