Kampala, Uganda — The Ministry of Health of Uganda today received a donation of IT equipment valued at €62,000 to bolster its disease surveillance capabilities. This initiative was coordinated by the Intergovernmental Authority on Development (IGAD) and funded through the European Union (EU) and the German Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development (BMZ), with implementation by GIZ.
The project, titled "EU Digital Solutions to Strengthen Disease Surveillance and Monitoring Systems," focuses on enhancing Uganda's capacity to rapidly detect, track, and respond to public health threats. The newly donated equipment will streamline data collection, analysis, and communication processes, enabling timely and evidence-based decision-making.
This donation reinforces the ongoing collaboration between the EU, Germany, and Uganda in strengthening public health infrastructure and combating infectious diseases.
While speaking at the handover, Ruth Aceng the minister of health said that this donation was timely for the cross-border health facilities.
"This project is to support, improve and bridge the gap in ICT by making disease surveillance more efficient and ease data sharing,"
Aceng thanked IGAD, EU and GIZ and assured the partners that Uganda is ready for the all support they will get in the digitization of health.
Disease surveillance provides vital data for disease prevention and control programs. Incomplete and untimely data are common challenges in planning, monitoring, and evaluation of health sector performance, and health service delivery.
Joselyn Bigirwa, IGAD head of mission to Uganda, said that this handover is part of the IGAD regional disease surveillance and response initiative supported by the EU and GIZ.
"IGAD with support from the European Union, German Government, and GIZ, developed the IGAD regional data sharing and protection policy which was endorsed by the IGAD Health Ministerial Council in March 2022,"
"IGAD has since supported the policy domestication process by seconding the IGAD National Policy Facilitators and hiring regional policy consultants, and with this technical support, Member States are in the process of developing the National Roadmap for data sharing and protection policy,"
This handover is a part of the EU's dedicated endeavour, in response to the Call to Action by the Heads of State of IGAD countries in 2020. Total Project Volume is Euro 8.4M - with 80% of this by the EU and 20% from the German government through the Federal Ministry of Economic Cooperation and Development (BMZ), this project is implemented by GIZ and coordinated by IGAD. The range of IT equipment encompassing, desktops (34), laptops (9), tablets (4), UPSes (34), extensions (30) and access points (3) will be dispatched to the Ministry of Health - Uganda as well as cross-border sites of Busia, Malaba, Elegu, Bibia, Musafu, Tororo and Amuru.
The IT equipment will be integrated within the existing IDSR system and allow for the exchange of health data for disease surveillance systems at various levels: health units at cross-border points, health facilities, sub-national health offices, and overarching Ministries of Health offices.
In his speech, James Macbeth Forbes GIZ Country Director Uganda who was represented by Joshua Mokaya, said that the equipment they unveiled today is not just technology; it is the embodiment of our commitment to fostering a regional health surveillance system that transcends borders, allowing for the seamless exchange of pivotal health data among IGAD member states.
"Today's handover event in Uganda is a significant leap towards the overarching goal of an efficient disease surveillance data transmission system," Macbeth said.
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Nicholas Gonze the EU head of governance added that this project shows the significance of regional cooperation through entities like IGAD.
"Through such projects, we foster international cooperation and strengthen disease surveillance," he said.
The Member States that have so far received IT equipment are; Ethiopia, Kenya, Somalia and today Uganda. The initiative also aims to implement a regional, transnational and real-time monitoring and analysis system (SORMAS) in the IGAD region.
This platform will allow the flow of health information and data between IGAD Member States towards containment and control of pandemics and prevent propagation across borders. In particular, the hardware procured will improve data management practices (collection, collation, transmission, analysis, and sharing) increasing the efficiency of disease surveillance processes.
