In February, the Capacity Project’s human resources information systems (HRIS) team met with more than 40 stakeholders in Namibia to assess HRIS needs in the Ministry of Health. The team found an existing paper-based information system that is functional but extremely labor- and time-intensive. For example, in order to report on retirees, staff must pull the relevant records from around 10,000 cards and manually calculate the figures. “They fold the data together in spreadsheets and that’s about it for technology,” said Dykki Settle, the Project’s HRIS team leader. During the two-week assessment, Project staff successfully piloted a new HRIS assessment tool, which efficiently identified local strengths and weaknesses and significantly improved the preparedness of the stakeholder group. The team concluded the visit with detailed recommendations to USAID/Namibia and the stakeholder group, focusing on the development of an efficient, computerized HRIS that will foster better understanding of the current health workforce and prepare decision makers to effectively plan for recruitment, training and retention of health professionals.
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