Promoting Good Data Through a Data Competition in Mali

Author(s): MEASURE Evaluation

Year: 2018

Abstract:

The quality of health data is fundamental to a health information system (HIS). In 2013, the HIS in Mali was assessed using the Performance of Routine Information System Management (PRISM) tool and it was determined that Mali should deploy an integrated platform to improve the HIS. A plan to strengthen the HIS then became part of the country’s Ten-Year Health and Social Development Program (PRODESS II).

Soon after, in August 2015, the country chose the DHIS 2 platform to house its health data—a big step forward toward a stronger HIS. The platform first was deployed nationwide at the district, regional, and national levels and in the health facility level in 2016. The implementation of DHIS 2 has resulted in improvements in data collection, data transmission, processing, analysis, security, availability, and data quality.

To take advantage of the enthusiasm among decision makers and others in the health sector, and to reinforce the value of good-quality data, Mali initiated a competition in December 2017 among all data producing units at all levels of the health system. The goal was to foster the production of high-quality data, promote excellence in skills, foster a culture of data use, and provide consistency in data management. Other goals were to create friendly competition among health units and to motivate health units to be timely in reporting data.

MEASURE Evaluation, funded by the United States Agency for International Development (USAID), had assisted with the deployment of DHIS 2 and helped plan the competition, assisting representatives from the central level of the health system to establish rules for the competition, judging, and awarding of prizes to the winners. This brief shares more details.