iHRIS Developer, Carl Leitner, recently traveled to Tanzania to provide technical assistance for the country’s implementation and use of iHRIS Manage. This is the second of three blogs about his trip. Read the first blog here.
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The Tanzania Human Resource Capacity Project (THRP), a Capacity Project Associate Award, is supporting the deployment of iHRIS Manage by the Zanzibar Ministry of Health and Social Welfare (MoHSW). Following an iHRIS developer training on Mainland, Carl traveled to Zanzibar to work with the developers and stakeholders implementing the system.
First, Carl met with Seleman Ally, head of ICT at the MoHSW, to address iHRIS Manage customization issues and training in iHRIS administration, and to discuss the strategy for rolling the system out to the districts. They also discussed plans for integrating iHRIS Manage with other health information systems already deployed in/planned for Zanzibar, including DHIS2 and a potential electronic health records system.
Carl then worked with a group of MOHSW representatives, including the Permanent Secretary, at an iHRIS Manage training workshop. THRP and MoHSW conducted the training for senior and middle level MOHSW staff directly working with HR management. The training covered system utilization at the central and district levels, including using data for decision-making. Specific presentation topics included:
The training had several important outcomes. The group specifically discussed using iHRIS Manage data to make informed decisions about new health worker deployment. Together they produced and analyzed reports that identified which facilities were in greatest need of additional health workers and which cadres were most required. The MOHSW will use the data to determine future staff hires. Attendees also participated in lively discussions around Open Source verses proprietary software and debated the benefits and challenges of each.
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