Ministry eyes digitalisation of the health sector
By Wezzie Gausi:
The Ministry of Health says it is prioritising digitalisation in the Health Sector Strategy III, which is expected to run from 2023–2030.
Speaking during the 2023 Open Health Information Exchange (Open HIE) global conference on Tuesday in Lilongwe, Minister of Health Khumbize Kandodo Chiponda said in this sector strategy, the ministry has designated pillar number 6 to deal with digitalisation of health services.
She says within this pillar, the Ministry has a reform area to ensure continuity of care as patients move from one health facility to another or within the health facility.
“The road to implement a data exchange and interoperability architecture started in 2016 under the Kuunika Project, which was generously supported by the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation and is implemented within the Ministry of Health.
“The value of the interoperability to the health sector cannot be overemphasized. Implementation of data exchange and interoperability standards has helped to provide additional insights into health service delivery,” Chiponda said.
This is the first time in three years that the conference is being held face-to-face, following the Covid 19 pandemic which prevented any physical meeting.
Malawi was supposed to host this conference in 2020 but it never happened due the pandemic.
