Digital Health Information System in Uganda Plans and Prospects

Eddie Mukooyo, MD, Robert T. Kambic, MSH

Executive Summary

"In the past 20 years, more than 30 new infectious agents that threaten human health have been discovered, including rotavirus, cryptosporidium parvum, legionalla pneumophila, hantavirus, and ebola. No region of the world is immune from the onslaught of disease...".

"There is a fundamental difference between leadership and unilateralism because leadership implies followership. . . But the principal activity that has become the day-to-day "meat and potatoes" of foreign policy has to be consultations . . . with the other major centers of power in the world. We have to be consulting with them regularly."

The purpose of this proposal is: 1) to obtain assistance for necessary hardware, software and training for a Digital Health Information Systems (DHIS) infrastructure in Uganda and 2) to show the benefits of a (DHIS) in the Uganda health sector. Such benefits include: a reduction in illness and poverty thereby bettering economic and social conditions in Uganda; epidemiological surveillance of diseases important to global interests; improved collaboration and consultation for development; and regional stability.

The world has an interest in Uganda to support its economic growth ( 6% over the past 12 years) with the aim of promoting regional stability in Africa and opening Africa to import and export market opportunities. Uganda continues to move towards an open economy with free markets and democratic reforms. Uganda has many attractive qualities that make it a focal point for leadership in Africa. Uganda has an excellent University, Makerere, providing education to students throughout Africa. Uganda could become a food exporter to Africa. Uganda contains unique ecosystems critical to the conservation of globally important biological diversity. Uganda has instituted reforms to increase educational opportunity for girls, and finally, Uganda has decentralized its government with 45 newly-created district administrations which give communities direct access to local government policy makers.

Improvement in the health sector is a basic component of development strategy in Uganda. Besides humanitarian efforts to reduce suffering, decreasing the prevalence and impact of infectious and communicable diseases has the pragmatic result of; providing more workers, with less time lost to illness, and a longer life span leading to senior leadership expertise. These issues are especially important as knowledge workers become a more important part of the Ugandan economy, mirroring recent changes in northern economies.

Planning for a DHIS has been ongoing for a number of years with numerous participants. This prospectus is the culmination of a number of these efforts.