News: Rwanda

The potential for using health workforce data to improve access to quality health services just got greater. Care Services Discovery, a profile of data standards and guidance for organizing and identifying health facilities, health care organizations, health workers, and health services, was recently published by Integrating the Healthcare Enterprise, a global initiative to improve the way health information systems share information. The...

Forward momentum of iHRIS Manage implementation has continued in Rwanda. Rwanda’s in-country HRIS Specialist, Solange Tuyisenge, was excited to report that all districts now have online access to iHRIS Manage. She noted that this development has not come without challenges, as the ICT infrastructure is not sufficient in many district hospitals. Some of these hospitals have irregular internet connectivity, which is problematic for routine system...

In Rwanda, iHRIS Manage implementation has continued to make progress. Since May 2009, Capacity Staff have held meetings with users and MOH partners to refine expectations for the system. In response to user requests, new reports have been developed for regular use by decision-makers, and further reports are under development. The MOH has ordered several servers for the system, including one that will be dedicated as a back-up server for the data...

In March and April, a Capacity Project evaluation team conducted qualitative interviews with 18 key informants at the central and district levels involved in strengthening Rwanda’s human resources information system (HRIS) using the Capacity Project’s iHRIS Manage software. The open source software has been customized to meet Rwanda’s specific needs. Preliminary results indicate that despite initial hurdles, including unforeseen server issues and...

In accordance with the data collection plan presented to the Rwanda Ministry of Health (MOH) Human Resources for Health Working Group in May, Capacity Project staff created a standardized data collection form for use at the district level. The new Excel form is in French and English, and includes simple, built-in features to ensure data consistency and reduce errors. It is being tested in two districts, where bimonthly updates will be submitted...

“We need a more balanced geographic distribution of health professionals in Rwanda,” says Bonita Baingana, who served until recently as the Rwanda Ministry of Health’s human resources for health (HRH) advisor. The country faces one of the most critical shortages of physicians and nurses in Africa, especially in rural areas. “Most health professionals prefer to work in urban areas due to many privileges that are not found in rural areas,” Baingana...

In May, a Rwanda Ministry of Health-sponsored HR working group approved a Data Collection and Quality Plan presented by the Capacity Project. Implementation of the plan is the next step toward effectively using health workforce data recently made available using a customized version of the Project’s iHRIS Manage software. The plan addresses decentralization issues and makes recommendations on keeping data current, ensuring data quality and...

How many doctors are working in Rwanda’s rural areas, and where are they working? In February, the Capacity Project’s human resources information systems (HRIS) team made finding an answer to this question much easier for the Ministry of Health by finalizing a pilot version of iHRIS Manage, the Project’s newly developed software that tracks detailed information about health workers. After reviewing the data for accuracy, Project staff...

A Capacity Project IT team (Matthew McMichaels, Vanessa Spann and Luke Duncan) installed the first field-deployed HRIS server in the Rwanda Ministry of Health. Matthew trained MOH HRIS staff (Gilbert Uwayezu, seconded from the Capacity Project to the MOH) in the use and support of the server. This means that the MOH is not reliant on the Project information and communications technology (ICT) infrastructure for hosting and managing their HRIS.