"Exchange Information and Experiences": Gathering and Sharing Health Worker Data in West Africa

CapacityPlus builds on the human resources information systems (HRIS) strengthening work initiated by the Capacity Project. One new initiative is providing support to regional organizations as they adapt and implement the iHRIS software.

Professor Kayode Odusote is the director for human resources development for the West African Health Organization (WAHO), which was created by the Economic Community of West African States and serves its 15 member countries.

Working with CapacityPlus, Professor Odusote led a joint WAHO/Ghana Ministry of Health pilot of iHRIS Manage—human resources management software—in the country’s Northern Region. This activity explored the software’s ability to collate and analyze routine health workforce data and determine indicators for decision-making.

Kofi Afari, information manager at the Ministry of Health, assisted Professor Odusote with the pilot. “The dream of our health sector is to have a unified system, which would inculcate all the data we collect so analysis can be done at all levels to facilitate decision-making,” he said.

From May 10-11, WAHO held a regional meeting in Liberia to present the pilot’s outcomes to member countries, the World Health Organization, Global Health Workforce Alliance, and Health Metrics Network.

Representatives from Ghana announced plans to roll out iHRIS Manage to additional regions; four other countries expressed interested in adopting the software.

Dykki Settle, CapacityPlus team lead for health informatics, noted a milestone: “The pilot was conducted with only minimal virtual support from CapacityPlus—that means this is the first truly independent review and dissemination of the iHRIS software.” Professor Odusote explained, “We hope it will become the standard HRIS software in the region, as we could then exchange information and experiences as well as aggregate regional data readily.”

Photo: Kayode Odusote