In the Spotlight: iHRIS Saves Countries Over $100 Million
CapacityPlus is spotlighting the money-saving power of iHRIS free and open source software. CapacityPlus supports development of the core iHRIS software and, along with other IntraHealth-led projects, partners with countries around the world to roll out the software and train staff members to use and maintain it.
The iHRIS software has now given 16 countries powerful data-management capabilities that, if purchased from for-profit companies, would have cost over $100 million in combined licensing fees. Instead, government agencies in Africa, Latin America, and India now use the affordable iHRIS software to store over 675,000 health worker records, allowing officials to track, manage, and plan for their health workforces. In the past year, officials in Guatemala, Namibia, Senegal, and Chad have adopted the iHRIS software, and several other countries will follow suit in the coming year.
iHRIS team lead Dykki Settle comments: "By using locally owned and supported software, countries can take the millions of dollars they would have spent on proprietary systems and put those resources toward increasing their health workforces and providing more health care, while also building the country’s capacity to innovate and save. This pattern—of innovate, save resources, increase resources, and innovate more—creates a powerful cycle of abundance that is helping countries to bootstrap their own national development.”