HRIS Champion - Samwel Wakibi

Kenyan born Samwel Wakibi is a Human Resource Information Systems Advisor for IntraHealth. With over 18 years of experience in IT, social research, data management and project monitoring and evaluation, Mr Wakibi helps to develop, implement and strengthen HRIS databases in the field.

As an HRIS advisor Mr. Wakibi works to initiate and facilitate these processes and is a firm believer in the participatory process undertaken by IntraHealth and the Capacity Project. “The strength of HRIS is in the development and implementation process. These are the points at which data quality ingredients of accuracy, completeness and timeliness can be inculcated. Participatory approach, adopted in all IntraHealth and Capacity Project system development, is crucial as it generates ownership, empowers database owners, builds capacity and opens communication channels between users and also developers,” said Mr. Wakibi. “Health care, just like any other service, is dependent on the person delivering the services. HRIS provides information about the number of health workers, their work stations and their skills. This information can be used to deploy and allocate tasks to health workers according to the needs in the health sector as guided by the burden of diseases and injury trends experienced over time."

Mr. Wakibi has helped to implement programs most recently in Uganda, Southern Sudan, Lesotho and Kenya.

In Uganda, a registry database has been developed and fully implemented. iHRIS Qualify for the Uganda Nurses and Midwives Council (UNMC) is now fully operational and data entry is current. Reports have been designed and developed based on identified management and policy questions gathered from the system owners at the UNMC and in the health sector. Presently, similar modules for the other professional councils in Uganda are being completed. Training on data use for decision making has also been conducted to expand the scope of managers in the health sector on evidence-based decision making and policy formulation.

Southern Sudan is emerging from 25 years of civil war that destroyed the infrastructure and institutions both private and governmental. The demand was so great for an HRIS system to provide answers and information, guide decision making, policy formulation, development and sound implementation of HR strategic plans that a quick fix step solution was preferred. After the stakeholder leadership group was formed, Mr. Wakibi conducted a needs assessment and developed a Microsoft Access-based "step" solution to provide answers as better alternatives are being sought. Data are currently being collected from training schools and states. Data collection and entry should be completed in November 2007.

Most recently in Lesotho, Mr. Wakibi conducted a needs assessment and developed an HR database. Similar to iHRIS Manage, the Microsoft Access-based system is designed to track staff movement, attrition and monthly payments made to employees. In addition, it will provide staff statistics for budgeting purposes, monthly under/overpayments to staff and staff complements that will trigger a recruitment process where there are shortages due to transfers, promotion and attrition. It is estimated that by the end of October 2007, a complete and clean dataset for all employees of the Ministry of Health and Social Welfare will be ready and available to managers for decision making. Reports are to be designed and developed in November 2007. Other system developments under way include an iHRIS Qualify for the Nursing Council.

In Kenya, a stakeholder leadership group has been formed, a needs assessment undertaken and required equipment has been acquired. The development of iHRIS Manage is under way.

In all these developments, staff members from the client government ministry or council are fully involved in order to build capacity to develop and enhance the database and production of tailored reports from the databases.

Mr. Wakibi is committed to helping implement systems that can build human capacity and wants to make certain those systems are effective and that health professionals feel confident using and developing HRIS independently.