Strengthening public health information for the response to the crisis in Somalia

Overview

In 2017 – 2018, the Public Health Information Services (PHIS) Task Team of the Global Health Cluster is rolling out new global standards and related software for PHIS in activated clusters and other coordination mechanisms. In collaboration with WHO’s Health Emergencies Program, the PHIS Task Team is planning to deliver dedicated PHIS technical support to level 3 or high-priority crises, including Somalia.

The first support trip to Somalia occurred between 16th and 24th of October 2017. The main objectives of this visit were to:

1. Review of Information Management (IM) products (including 3W, Health Cluster Bulletin and dashboards) against PHIS standards;
2. Undertake the first Public Health Situation Analysis (PHSA) with support from PHIS, Cluster and WCO country colleagues through secondary data review and analysis;
3. Support PHIS team in the planning of Health Resources and services Availability Mapping (HeRAMS) through review and development of tools, methodology, implementation and analysis plan;
4. Review of Health Cluster section of 2018 HRP to ensure alignment with PHSA as well as review of indicators to ensure harmonization with PHIS standards.

The report is structured around the 4 objectives of the visit, with a description of findings and recommendations/planned next steps for each of the objectives.