Nairobi – After 5 days of strolling door-to-door, visiting church buildings and attending group gatherings, Margaret Khasiala lastly will get to relaxation in her dwelling in Chekalani, Western Kenya. She is one among 4,250 group well being promoters who labored to make sure as much as 13 million kids throughout Kenya acquired medicines to fight uncared for tropical ailments. 

Margaret was additionally one among 110 group well being promoters piloting a brand new digital system. Utilizing her telephone, she recorded the main points of each little one she gave medicines to. The information might be seen instantly at nationwide stage, making the information amassing course of sooner than conventional handwritten data.

This marks the primary time Kenya has used a digital system for a mass public well being marketing campaign, a daring step ahead in a rustic the place well being initiatives of this scale have lengthy relied on handbook knowledge assortment.

THE BURDEN OF NEGLECTED TROPICAL DISEASES

Whereas Kenya efficiently eradicated Guinea Worm Illness in 2018 and is on monitor to remove Lymphatic Filariasis by 2027, not less than 25 million Kenyans stay in danger from uncared for tropical ailments. For kids, these ailments typically hinder faculty attendance and tutorial efficiency, whereas adults expertise diminished work productiveness and social stigma.

To curb the prevalence of those ailments, on the thirteenth of December 2024, Kenya launched a 5-day mass drug administration marketing campaign concentrating on 13 million kids aged 1 to fifteen years within the Western, Nyanza, and Coastal areas of Kenya — areas with the best uncared for tropical illness prevalence. 

“Addressing uncared for tropical ailments not solely saves lives but additionally unlocks financial alternatives” stated Cupboard Secretary for Well being, Dr. Deborah Barasa throughout the launch of the marketing campaign. 

WHO supported the Ministry of Well being to coach over 800 healthcare staff throughout 20 counties, donating $1.6 million value of medicines, supplied help supervision, and advocated for presidency possession and funding in uncared for tropical illness elimination.

“We consider investing in uncared for tropical illness elimination will give us the most effective returns as a result of it reduces poverty, whereas permitting individuals to reside dignified and productive lives,” stated Georgina Bonet Arroyo of WHO.

CHALLENGES OF HAND-WRITTEN RECORDS

Whereas mass drug administrations are an efficient technique for combating uncared for tropical ailments in Kenya, their large-scale implementation presents a serious problem—environment friendly knowledge assortment.

To trace the variety of kids reached throughout these campaigns, group well being promoters like Margaret historically document family visits by hand, noting particulars equivalent to kids’s names, ages, administered medicines, and any refusals.

With every promoter visiting as much as 800 kids every day, these handwritten data are then submitted to native well being services, the place the information is compiled and forwarded up the chain—from the sub-county to the county, and ultimately to the nationwide stage. This labour-intensive course of requires manually counting hundreds of thousands of data to evaluate the marketing campaign’s general influence.

This method slows down knowledge assortment and sometimes takes weeks earlier than data reaches decision-makers. The method just isn’t solely time-consuming but additionally vulnerable to errors. With out real-time visibility, organizers wrestle to handle challenges as they come up. As an illustration, if sure areas expertise low protection or excessive refusal charges, these points could go unnoticed till it’s too late to take corrective motion. Moreover, accessing handwritten data for follow-ups or long-term evaluations stays cumbersome, making it tough to measure the true influence of the marketing campaign.

THE DIGITAL PILOT: A STEP FORWARD

Recognizing the restrictions of handbook knowledge assortment, Kenya’s Ministry of Well being, with help from WHO, Clinton Well being Entry Initiative, and funding from the Gates Basis, piloted a brand new digital knowledge assortment system.

The pilot befell throughout the latest mass drug administration marketing campaign and concerned 110 group well being promoters from two areas in Kakamega County—Chekalani and Bunyala Central.

Utilizing their cell phones, these well being staff logged each little one they administered medication to, in addition to any refusals or hostile reactions. 

“The power to see reside outcomes from these two areas was a game-changer,” stated Eric Maira from WHO. “It allowed us to observe progress throughout the marketing campaign and reply instantly to challenges.”

For the people who took half within the pilot, this knowledge was immediately uploaded to a centralized database, permitting well being officers — each domestically and nationally — to entry reside marketing campaign updates.

For individuals like Margaret, the app simplified their work. With out the burden of carrying registers or worrying about errors in transcription, they may concentrate on reaching extra kids.

The WHO supported the Ministry of Well being in the design, improvement, testing, and piloting of the brand new system, in addition to conducting trainings with the 110 group well being promoters on easy methods to use it. 

Because the digital instrument was designed as a brand new characteristic throughout the Digital Neighborhood Well being Data System (eCHIS)—an app they already used—well being promoters had some familiarity with it, making it simpler to undertake. 

As for Margaret and hundreds of different well being promoters, the marketing campaign could also be over, however its influence has simply begun.