Strengthening Health Information Systems in Mali

Author(s): MEASURE Evaluation

Year: 2019

Abstract:

MEASURE Evaluation, which is funded by the United States Agency for International Development, has been supporting Mali’s Ministry of Health and Public Hygiene (MOH)—especially the National Malaria Control Program and the National Directorate of Health—in the unification of Mali’s health information system (HIS). The goal of this unification is for the HIS to yield better-quality data for effective health system planning and timely response to disease outbreak. Mali’s HIS comprises a system for local (sitebased) health information, the hospital information system, and the epidemiological surveillance system. These systems are managed by different governing bodies and were previously housed on a variety of platforms that were not able to communicate or share data. The local HIS had limitations preventing it from producing malaria-specific information or aiding in the detection of an Ebola outbreak. These limitations led to the creation of additional parallel information systems. These multiple reporting systems and duplicative indicators have resulted in a heavy burden of data collection for healthcare providers. MEASURE Evaluation’s work to support the MOH has strengthened both the “enabling environment” and “information generation” areas of the HIS identified in MEASURE Evaluation’s Health Information System Strengthening Model.

This fact sheet superimposes on the HISSM depictions of MEASURE Evaluation’s activities in the enabling environment and information generation areas to support better coordination of Mali’s HIS subsystems. By displaying key interventions across the model, we see their strategic interaction and how this combination of interventions works together to strengthen data quality and data use at all levels of the health system. The table lists additional MEASURE Evaluation activities that support HIS strengthening.