Strengthen ICT capacity for Mangochi Diocese

One of the districts development issues that the district would like to address is low access to transport and telecommunication. In relation to the issue of low access to transport and telecommunication, the district has put in place a deliberate strategic objective with the aim of improving the district transport and communication facilities. The strategy to deal with this issue was to lobby with the development partners and private sector to establish ICT centers in the communities. The use of telephones and radio telecommunications is another important factor in effective and efficient delivery of essential health care package. These play a vital role in calling for ambulance from its designated position to the health facility with an emergency case. The overall status of telecommunication services determines the ability upon which the health facilities can deliver effectively and efficiently. Most of the health facilities depend on radio telecommunications to communicate within the health facilities or with the District hospital, hence, a necessity that they should be in a working state all the time. There are huge problems when telecommunication gadgets break down at a health facility. In such cases unnecessary medical complications and deaths arise due to late referring of cases and difficulties faced to call for emergency drugs and materials to those in emergency situation.

Current status

Not yet started implimenting. We are finalising the Contract agreements.

Target group:
The beneficiaries to this project will be everybody living in the targeted communities because the Home based care project is targeting everyone provided they have; a chronic illness or other conditions that requires home care services, vulnerability e.g. orphan hood, elderly, widowed or disabled. The number of Chronically ill people that are reached are 1600. They are reached by 96 Home Based Care Workers.

Activity Year 1
- Conduct 4 orientation workshops
- Conduct 4 trainings on cell phone
- Conduct 4 trainings on computer usage
- Develop data collection and reporting tools
- Conduct monthly in house review meetings
- Procure hardware equipment
- Procure software packages
- Connect to internet services
- Procure Mobile cell phone airtime/services
- Provide technical support and maintenance
- Conduct baseline survey
- Conduct benchmarking visit
- Conduct monthly supportive supervision
- Train staff in internet usage
- Orientation to computer usage(refresher)

Specifically the commission would like to:
- Improve communication systems among 4CBOs, 4Health facility and Catholic Health Commission by September 2014.
- Improve the M&E systems at 4CBOs, 4 Health facilities, and at CHC level by September 2014.

Goals

• Timely reporting from H/W to CBO from 65% in 2011 to 100%
• Timely reporting from CBO to CHC by 40% in 2012
• Timely reporting from CHC to stakeholders by 40% in 2012
• Improved feedback from H/F to HBC-workers by 35% in 2012
• Reduced volunteer dropout rate by 10 % in 2012

The developed resource centre will have solar power which be used to charge the phones of the people in the community their by generating funds for future maintenance of the phones and phone units for the SMSs. There will also be access to the internet from the resource center by the people from the community for their personal use. They will be paying some fees to sustain the initiative.