Govt launches UCS to connect CHWs countrywide

DAR ES SALAAM: IN efforts of harnessing the ever-changing global technologies for socio-economic development, the government has launched a digital system to connect community healthcare providers across the country.

The digital system which is dubbed Unified Community System (UCS) allows Community Health Workers (CHWs) to collect patients’ information in their respective localities and make them available for use by health centres and pharmacies.

CHWs will be collecting health information mainly of expectant mothers, recently delivered women and children under the age of five in efforts of ensuring they get required medical treatment on time thereby reducing maternal mortality rate and neonatal mortality rate.

UCS’s has been driven from the Afya Tek, the digital medical care programme initially operated in Coast Region by Apotheker which is the Non-Governmental Organisation dedicated to advancing community healthcare.

This system was launched on Tuesday in Kibaha, Coast Region by the Deputy Minister for Health, Dr Godwin Mollel who emphasized that the digital system will be used in all regions across the country.

“Finally, we have managed to answer the long-time question which demanded us to have a digital system that connects healthcare providers at community level,” Dr Mollel said.

Adding “It is time now to ensure the system is used across the country. We need to use a uniform system to advance community healthcare,” Dr Mollel said the move is line with President Samia Suluhu Hassan’s commitment of ensuring all government entities including in health sector are digitally integrated by January next year thereby increasing efficiency and improving health services provision.

ALSO READ: How the communication sector drives economic growth

The data collected by the CHWs apart from being useful to health service providers at community level also will be submitted to the President Office-Regional Administration and Local Government (PORALG) and the Ministry of Health.

He said the data collected will reduce cost of treatment to expectant mothers, recently delivered women and children under the age of five as they will be reached by CHWs on time and advised to contact nearby heath centres.

More significantly, Dr Mollel said the online system will enable the Ministry of Health and PORALG to make informed decision regarding upgrading healthcare maternal health in the country after familiarizing with key problems facing the aforementioned picked community group.

Apotheker’s Programme Director, Dr Angel Dillip noted that the Afya Tek commenced operation in 2019 in Coast Region where it covered Kibaha District Council and Kibaha Town Council.

She said ever since the programme started operation 74,658 households equivalent 73 per cent of all households were registered with a total of 283,000 inhabitants in the two councils.