Kenya Ministry of Health Champions iHRIS

In October, Capacity Kenya’s human resources information system (HRIS) implementation team and Dr. Samwel Wakibi achieved buy-in from the Ministry of Health and Ministry of Public Health and Sanitation to expand the rollout of iHRIS to Kenya’s counties.

Developed under the Capacity Project (2005-2009), iHRIS is a free, Open Source software solution to supply health sector leaders and managers with the information they need to assess HR problems, plan effective interventions, and evaluate those interventions. Led by IntraHealth International, Capacity Kenya builds on the success of the USAID-funded Capacity Project, which preceded CapacityPlus.

Dr. Wakibi is now collaborating with the ministries to ensure all HR data for hiring, transferring, and retiring health workers are electronically entered into iHRIS by the Ministry of Health’s Complement Section so that iHRIS becomes an integral part of the daily operations for human resources for health in Kenya.

This expansion grew out of the ongoing iHRIS work in Kenya, which began in August 2009 when iHRIS Manage was implemented to help HR managers better track the location and skills of their health workers.

By August 2010, temporary employees had entered all data into a newly created (but temporary) database—including the number, name, and facility where each health worker was currently working—then all data were uploaded into iHRIS Manage. For the first time, iHRIS Manage held accurate data on over 36,000 of Kenya’s health workers.

Going forward with the country-wide iHRIS expansion, fully endorsed by both ministries, the Capacity Kenya team will customize and implement expansion and implementation of the larger system.

Photo by Trevor Snapp. (Health workers in Kenya)