Ministry of Health staff and health workers across Vanuatu will now have free access to the Vanuatu Public Health Information System (VanPHIS2) website application.
This is thanks to a Memorandum of Understanding signed 21 March with Digicel Vanuatu Ltd, which Telecom Vanuatu Limited (TVL) will sign next week.
Health Information Systems (HIS) are used to collect critical information about the illnesses being treated by health workers from around the country. In 2014, the Vanuatu Ministry of Health, supported by the World Health Organization, built VanPHIS2, which utilizes an open-source information system with visualization features including GIS, charts, and pivot tables, and is a system used in more than 40 countries around the world.
At present, health centres, dispensaries, and aid posts send their paper forms over mountains, through the bush, and on boats to reach the provincial offices, where it is entered through the VanPHIS2 web app utilizing the Government Broadband Network, a high speed internet connection provided by the Office of the Government Chief Information Officer (OGCIO). This data is then able to be reviewed by the national HIS office in Port Vila.
Yet, this information can be lost on the way from clinics to the provincial centres. Through advice solicited from OGCIO’s technical experts and from the mobile network providers, came the idea of “zero rating” VanPHIS2. Zero rating means that the web app will be available through mobile phones or tablets with sim cards without any data charges to the consumer. Usually this service would then be billed to the Ministry of Health or another party; however, both TVL and Digicel have agreed to provide this service for free. Through TVL, this will be accomplished by zero rating across the network. For Digicel, a list of health workers’ Digicel numbers will be added to a “White List” that allows zero rated access to the web app.
TVL’s CEO mentioned that they have been working to provide easy access to telecommunication services to the whole population of Vanuatu and said, “When the Ministry of Health approached TVL with respect to the zero–rating of their web app, TVL immediately provided their acceptance to this project, free of charge in line with its commitment to the people of Vanuatu.”
Yaser Maher, Digicel Vanuatu CEO, stated “Digicel is committed to encouraging access to basic health services in rural and remote communities. We did this through the provision of Mobile Health Clinics (MHCs) in Papua New Guinea and we are now supporting Vanuatu by giving health workers free access to the Ministry of Health web app. We hope that the free access of the Vanuatu Public Health Information System will allow the national Health Information System to collect more data from distant sites and the health workers to be up-to-date with current health issues. Health care is a challenge in Vanuatu and Digicel is proudly contributing to the great efforts done by the Ministry of Health.”
When health workers have the ability to send this information via mobile device through Digicel and TVL networks, instead of only sending paper forms, the MoH hopes it will result in more accurate and timely reporting, increase visibility of diseases throughout the country, and lead to better informed decision making. George Taleo, Director General of Health explained further, “the Ministry of Health is grateful for the opportunity that both telecommunication companies have agreed to zero-rate the Health Informationweb app. This will assist in the timely reporting of the HIS report especially in the most rural health facilities in Vanuatu. This is a milestone within the Ministry of Health and I believe we can continue with the working relationship in the future.”
This zero rating and next phase of VanPHIS2 rollout is focused on pushing data entry down to the individual facility, so health workers can utilize the web-based tools to have a greater understanding of the health needs and issues affecting the population directly under their care.
Rachel Takoa, National HIS Manager for the MoH stated, “TVL and Digicel zero-rating the HIS web app (VanPHIS2 database) is a major achievement that the unit will benefit a lot from. One of our major goals is to have timely reporting and this tool will assist in achieving this goal. A lot of health facilities are in the rural part of Vanuatu. They’ll be the ones using this tool, since transporting the hard-copy of the electronic HIS form is an issue for most of them currently. The unit is very happy that TVL and Digicel have taken steps to assist with zero-rating the web app. And we know the health workers will be happy too once they start looking at their own reports through a web browser.”
Danjeck Tari, MoH’s National ICT Manager, explained the technical side of the project and said "Information and Communication Technology (ICT) tools that are low-bandwidth are a great way to include health workers all over Vanuatu. VanPHIS2 even loads quickly on 2G networks and it requires very little mobile data to submit a form or look at graphs through the internet. Zero rating the web app to make it free eliminates one of the many barriers health workers face. We hope to find even more ways to help health workers everywhere have equal access to the ICT tools they need."
While the public can view the log in page of VanPHIS2 (accessible at https://vu.dhis2.net/dhis), at this time the tool is only for health staff who have been granted access by the HIS department. In the future, the Ministry of Health’s goal is to also provide aggregate data and health trends directly to the public.
Gerard Metsan, the Government Chief Information Officer, is committed to helping ministries utilize ICTs and said, “The zero rating of VanPHIS2 is a great way to utilize existing mobile networks, which already reach a majority of the population. Very soon, even more places in Vanuatu will have 3G service and more towers are being built due to the government’s Universal Access Policy. Vanuatu has a very bright future indeed and OGCIO is committed to increasing the creation and utilization of ICTs to improve the reach of government services to citizens.”
TVL and Digicel both have other initiatives offering zero rated services, which are internet based and free to consumers. Thus Digicel customers can enjoy unlimited free access to Wikipedia and Loop News with all the news from Vanuatu and the Pacific. In 2017, Digicel also worked with USP to provide unlimited free access to USP e-learning websites and Facebook to the USP students and staff. Last year TVL launched a new service called ‘’Free Basics by Facebook’’ that provides completely free access to TVL customers to use basic internet services which include health, education, finance, communication, new and information services. More information on this can be viewed of the website of TVL: http://www.tvl.vu/en/freebasicsbyfacebook/.
Photo by Alexis Cullen