Health information systems (HIS) strengthening in developing countries is becoming increasingly dependent on more sophisticated tools and software that require an adequate information and communication technology (ICT) infrastructure that allows data to be easily captured, transferred, stored, reviewed, and analyzed all the while supporting a broad dissemination of the information produced in order to inform data-based decision making processes.
Setting-up an electronic "One Health" platform that would manage disease surveillance data in Burkina Faso required an assessment of the state of existing ICT infrastructures used by the three ministries involved in the "One Health" approach, namely the Ministry of Health, the Ministry of the Environment, Green Economy, and Climate Change, and the Ministry of Livestock and Fisheries.
The ICT infrastructure assessment tool, developed by MEASURE Evaluation, allowed the country team to evaluate the different health system levels' capacities in order to provide an indication on the current state of its ICT equipment and system, as well as the necessary actions that must be undertaken to improve it and meet the project's objectives.
A mixed-methods self-evaluation enabled the team to gain insight from data management staff within each structure of the health system pyramid. The assessment also determined the elements required to develop an integrated HIS architecture that would allow interoperability within all sub-systems working on the "One Health" approach in Burkina Faso, and to issue recommendations for an upgrade of the infrastructure supporting the HIS in Burkina Faso. JSI/MEASURE Evaluation. 2018.
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