By Wellington Sibale
Partners in Health (PIH), in collaboration with the Neno District Health Office (DHO), has trained 90 Health Surveillance Assistants (HSAs) on the Integrated Community Health Information System (I-CHIS), an investment of K40 million.
The initiative marks a major shift from paper-based to digital health data management in the district.
The training, which targeted HSAs from various health catchment areas, forms part of the Government of Malawis broader initiative to strengthen community health systems through the Community Health Framework.
Speaking during the training session at Lisungwi Community Hospital over the weekend, PIH Associate Community Health Director Jimmy Harare said the investment supports the governments strategy of digitising health information systems.
“As Partners in Health, we thought of supporting the government, especially in Neno, by training its community health workers on I-CHIS,”Harare said.
He explained that PIH expects the trained personnel to show commitment in collecting valuable data, which would enhance the delivery of quality health care.
Beyond the initial training investment, Harare said PIH and the DHO developed a roadmap for the successful rollout of I-CHIS, including strengthened supervision to ensure proper system use.
Neno District Chief Environmental Health Officer Margret Mikwamba said the digital system will improve the way HSAs collect, process, and report health data.
“This will greatly improve decision-making, as HSAs will be able to deliver services and make informed decisions right at the household level,” she said.
Mikwamba explained that previously HSAs relied on multiple paper-based registers for various health programmes, including water and sanitation, family planning, immunisation, and nutrition. The I-CHIS integrates all tools into a single digital platform, allowing faster data entry and timely reporting to district and national dashboards.
She said government provided tablets for HSAs to capture data, with additional devices being sourced from the Malaria Control Programme to ensure every HSA is adequately equipped.
Mikwamba added that the Neno DHO incorporated I-CHIS training into its annual implementation plan and was working with PIH and other partners to secure more funding to extend the programme to all HSAs in the district.
One of the participants, HSA from Midzemba Health Centre Rodrick Masanje, welcomed the new system, noting that it will ease the workload associated with paper-based reporting.
“Previously, our work was difficult because of multiple registers and reports. The new system will relieve us from the burden of carrying numerous paper documents,”he said.
Masanje added that the training empowered fellow HSAs with the knowledge to deliver better health services using the digital tools.
Although I-CHIS had already been implemented in other districts, Neno faced financial challenges in adopting the system, making PIHs intervention timely.
Health authorities said there are plans to train additional HSAs with available resources.
The I-CHIS training was conducted in phases, starting with a recent Training of Trainers (TOT) for 10 facilitators, followed by the main session for 83 HSAs, representing over 40 percent of the districts more than 200 community health workers.
