My
Work at the Federal Ministry of Health
VSO has been working in Ethiopia since 1997, first in the area of education and more recently in health.
In
2005 the government put in place the first Health Sector Development
Plan (HSDP). This plan in now in it’s fourth phase and a key focus
of the plan is to use Information and Communication Technology (ICT)
to improve health care delivery and outcomes. Work has been
undertaken to pilot electronic systems to collect management
information (e.g. for planning, finance and human resource
management) and develop an electronic medical record.
My
role here in Ethiopia is as a ‘Health IT Expert’ working for the
Federal Ministry of Health (FMOH). I will be undertaking an
evaluation of the electronic medical record pilot and helping to
devise a strategy for national roll-out. The government has defined a
very challenging timescale for roll-out, with a target of full
implementation across health centres and hospitals by 2015.
On
a day to day basis, I expect to be meeting with various stakeholders
and visiting pilot sites across the country to understand what has
been implemented and how it works, the barriers and challenges
encountered and lessons learnt. Having conducted similar evaluation
projects in the UK and Saudi Arabia, it will be interesting to
compare and contrast the different contexts and implementation
strategies.
These
photos show a line taxi which is how I get to work and various sights
along the way. My office and desk space don’t make particularly
interesting viewing.
Another fascinating glimpse into a very different world. Are you coping ok with culture shock?
ReplyDeleteChrissy's Manchester: a photo a day at Mancunian Wave