By Emerald Awa-Agwu
During the month of August, eHealth Systems Africa in collaboration with THINKMD, FIND and Kano State Primary Health Care Management Board (KSPHCMB) implemented the second phase of the pilot study of the eHealth platform MEDSINC. In the first phase of the pilot, Community Health Workers (CHWs) in 15 health facilities across Kano state had been trained to use the platform and carry out physician like clinical assessments on ill children between the age of 2 months and 5 years of age. At the completion of their training the CHWs received a training certificate during a conferment ceremony. Taking from the success of the first phase, a new version of MEDSINC was developed and combined with malaria rapid diagnostic tests to guide CHWs through clinical assessment, malaria diagnosis and management. This phase of the pilot was implemented in 5 health facilities across five metropolitan Local Government Areas.
Last week, FIND representative, Dr. Karell Pellé, visited eHealth Systems Africa and met with the Executive Secretary of Kano State Primary Health Care Management Board (KSPHCMB), Dr. Nasir Mahmoud, to discuss ongoing plans for scaling up the use of mHealth tools to improve clinical diagnosis of childhood illnesses. She also visited some of the pilot health facilities in Kano State to interact with the CHWs and observe first-hand how quality of care and health delivery had been improved in those facilities.
