A new scheme is being planned for launch by the Sindh health ministry to monitor the performance of lady health visitors and vaccinators, using smartphones.
The officials said that the ministry would collaborate with Aga Khan Development Network to launch the programme which will track the locations of their staff. The finalizing of the programme will was done in a meeting held between provincial health minister Jab Mehtab Dahar and officials of Aga Khan Development Network on Tuesday.
They also said that the system was already successfully implemented and operating in district Tando Mohammed Khan. The first phase of the program will involve the launch of a system of monitoring and evaluation for lady health visitors and vaccinators where their performance was already below satisfactory levels.
Through smartphones, not only movement of the staff will be checked, but photos of every vaccination activity will be sent to monitoring room that will be established in the health minister’s or the secretary health’s office as it is deemed fit.
Incentives for the LHVs
Mr. Jab Dahar said that the LHVs would be provided financial support and fuel based on their performance. The nonfunctional staff would be suspended and all LHVs and vaccinators will be given a monthly mobile package to use during their activity and for communicating with the operating officials in the monitoring room.
This is expected to raise the immunization ratio which is currently at 29% very low compared to the ratio in 2006 which was at 37%. The root causes of low immunization ratio is low accountability, children not getting vaccination at health facilities, vaccinators not visiting the villages enough, and not raising awareness in routine immunization awareness.
The reporting is also erratic with the numbers shown by the government’s immunization programme being higher than on Health Surveys and the National Pakistan Demographic.
via Dawn
