ODSG BEGINS DIGITALISATION OF PRIMARY HEALTH CARE FACILITIES.
”’distributes laptops to 203 facilities.
The Ondo State government through the “IMPACT PROJECT” (a World Bank Assisted Project) has commenced the digitalisation of primary health facilities across all the 203 wards in Ondo State.
The process began with training of health facilities HMIS officers and distribution of 203 laptops to all of them for collation and entry directly into the DHIS2 platform as well as management of data at their respective health facilities.
Speaking at the programme, the state Commissioner for Health, Dr Banji Awolowo Ajaka lauded the efforts of Governor Lucky Ayedatiwa for his initiatives and ingenuity at transforming the health sector.
Ajaka said with the training and distribution of the laptops to the HIMS Officers, the state primary health care system has joined the digitalised world saying the era of papers and files for keeping health records was over.
While enumerating the importance of the digitalisation process in the sector, Ajaka said it would make the job seamless for health workers as accessing data would be easier as well as reducing the stress and rigour of moving hardcopies from one location to the other .
He explained further that the period of hazards when burglary, moth, fire occurrence, rainstorm and other natural disasters destroyed records at the facilities would soon become a thing of the past.
HMIS Officers undergoing training with the new laptops
While expressing joy that he was part of the innovation, Ajaka thanked the World Bank through the IMPACT project, the Federal Ministry of Health (FMoH) and the National Primary Health Care Development Agency (NPHCDA) for making Ondo a benefiting State of the programme noting that changing from analogue to electronic data processing was no mean feat to be accomplished in the state.
He advised the HMIS Officers to guide the laptops jealousy and use them for the purpose which they were meant to serve.
He equally assured them that the ongoing training would not be a one off as there will be training and re-training of health workers in the State for regular updates to make the system effective on data management.
In his remarks, the Special Adviser to the Governor on Health, Professor Simidele Odimayo appreciated the health workers for their dedication to health promotion across the 18 local governments. He expressed gratitude to Governor Lucky Orimisan Aiyedatiwa for his support and commitment in advancing health system strengthening and development in the state.
Professor Odimayo, highlighted the importance of data-driven decision-making, stating that working without data and proper presentation of results, was inadequate. Hence, the state government provided health workers with laptop computers to upgrade their record-keeping system from hardcopy to soft copy, aligning with modern trends and international best practices in the health sector.
Speaking at the programme, the Permanent Secretary of Ondo State Primary Health Care Development Agency, Dr Francis Akanbiemu, said, the government of Governor Lucky Orimisan Ayedatiwa in collaboration with the World Bank through the IMPACT project, has invested heavily in the health sector and therefore urged the health workers who provide services at the facilities to allow the residents to get the benefits of this heavy investment.
The Permanent Secretary, Ondo State Primary Health Care Development Agency Dr Francis Akanbiemu addressing participants at the training.
He stressed that the best way to showcase performances at the facilities is through accurate and quality data presentation and thereby urged the HMIS Officers to put the laptops to effective use .
Akanbiemu who advised that the laptops should be used with voltage protector devices hinted that electronic data processing has the advantage of producing error free services because it has auto corrective functions in the system.
Also speaking at the event, the Director of Public Health, Ondo State Ministry of Health, Dr Stephen Fagbemi informed the participants that with the training and subsequent distribution of laptops, Ondo State has made history in the health sector .
While telling the HMIS Officers that any sector that refused to embrace digitisation would be left behind in the world of globalization, Dr Fagbemi thanked the Commissioner for health, Dr Banji Ajaka for speaking with the bank to include Ondo State in the IMPACT project which has yeilded results in the state. He also commended the Permanent Secretary of the Primary Health Care Development Agency, Dr Akanbiemu for his foresight and innovations in the development of primary health care system in the state.
In his goodwill message, the representative of the Federal Ministry of Health, Mr Toye Femi, emphasised the need for health facilities to have quality and accurate data noting that accurate data attract development partners.
Also speaking, the executive Secretary of Ondo State Health Commodity Management Agency Pharmacist (Dr) Amos Ayegbusi, who was represented by Director Procurement and Logistics, Pharmacist Adegoke Falodun described the event as an epoch-making event which would be remembered in the history of health sector in Ondo state
He appealed to the HMIS Officers to be efficient and effective in the generation and handling of data at their respective facilities.
The Programme Manager of IMPACT (Immunisation Plus) Project in Ondo State who also doubles as the Director of Medical Services, Ondo State Primary Health Care Development Agency, Dr Paulinus Kunle Omode, thanked the State governor, Hon Lucky Ayedatiwa, for providing the enabling environment and support for the health sector in the state, and the World Bank for the financial assistance on the need to leverage information communication technology (ICT) to digitalise the primary health care system.
Omode said this would improve data quality in the health sector, enhance its accessibility and increase efficiency noting that instead of the HMIS Officers at the facilities to approach their local government headquarters every month with manual/analogue paper-based reports, they will just upload data to the DHIS2 and other appropriate data reporting sites without stress.
The Commissioner for Health Dr Banji Ajaka distributing the laptops to HMIS Officers.
Speaking on behalf of other HMIS Officers, the state HMIS Officers, Mrs Mojisola Odunola thanked the state government for the new innovation in the health sector.
While noting that the use of laptops would accelerate the process of data collation and processing, Mrs Odunola pledged that the laptops would be judiciously utilized by HMIS Officers to improve data gathering and services of the health facilities.
In All, 216 laptops were available for distribution, while 203 are for PHC facilities in the 203 political wards of the state, the remaining 13 are for local government PHC Authorities HMIS Officers who had earlier complained of faulty laptops during routine inspections.
Ayo Falana
OSPHCDA.
