IMPROVING HEALTH INFORMATION WITH LAPTOPS

UNICEF, with technical and financial support from GAVI and the French Ministry of Europe and Foreign Affairs, is addressing the challenge of delayed and uncertain health data analysis in Cameroon by providing laptops to various health districts.

The sound of fingers typing on a keyboard greets you as you enter the office of Robain Sadie Fokam, an epidemiologist responsible for data analysis and planning at Bertoua District Hospital. Among the papers, a calculator, and various wooden trinkets sits a new laptop. This laptop is a gift from UNICEF and the result of a technical and financial partnership with Gavi and the French Ministry of Europe and Foreign Affairs.

Portable and equipped with a powerful battery, this 500 GB computer makes collecting and processing health data much easier.

‘This computer saves me time and avoids errors in data collection and processing,’ says a relieved Robain Sadie Fonkam.

Before obtaining this laptop, gathering health data was laborious, time-consuming, and risky. The data was manually collected using a calculator and had to be compiled on blank sheets of paper.

“ Using these manual tools, the risks were first of all this slowness. Which meant we couldn’t achieve the day’s objectives. Then when you’re working manually you’re overworked and at some point you can make mistakes that can be fatal”, remembers Robain Sadie Fonkam.

Mr MENGAMBA GASPAR Data Manager at the Eastern Regional Health Delegation underlines the usefulness of these laptops :

“Thanks to these laptops, we have been able to improve the quality of digital data collection. This allows us to react quickly to the objectives set”

Optimistic and reassuring, Mr EMGAMBA draws a clear comparison between 2023 and 2024:

“When we look at the data from 2023 and 2024, we can see that the quality of the data has changed significantly.”

The following text is a clear demonstration of the positive impact that these computers are having on data management in the Bertoua districts. Thanks to these highly autonomous computers, which have been adapted to meet field requirements, long distances, power cuts, and manual work are now a thing of the past. Acknowledging the efficient and convincing results of this UNICEF donation, the epidemiology data manager at the regional delegation stated,

“With this computer, I can achieve 80–90% of my daily work objectives.”

Written by Abraham Diboum, Dr. Noël Vogue and Marie Guy Bandolo