Tracking All Health Workers in Botswana

The system, iHRIS Manage, was developed by CapacityPlus, a global project funded by USAID, to maintain information on health worker deployment and attrition. The software is free and Open Source, allowing local developers to modify the code to suit the country's needs. The Ministry of Health guided customization of iHRIS Manage for its particular context. A module called Professional Development was created to track short courses that health workers have taken. The establishment module was modified to create a better link with the public service HR system. The training module was customized to accommodate the needs of all departments in the Ministry. The system allows the Ministry to track health workers, including what districts they work in and what cadre they belong to. This information enables the Ministry to manage health worker training more effectively. The system also enables the Ministry to identify workers eligible for certain courses and to see which workers are working in areas they are not trained for. The Ministry is currently using iHRIS data to build an HR profile for Botswana with the help of the WHO. Monthly HR reports are sent to all stakeholders to provide a situational analysis of HR in the health sector. The system has also been used to make estimates for health HR financing. Additionally, the Ministry is synching iHRIS Manage with the payroll system to ensure that data is accurate and timely. CapacityPlus is strengthening Botswana's ability to manage and use health worker information. The Ministry has hired four officers to be trained as administrators of the system, ensuring continuity and spreading the workload. The new officers will take CapacityPlus's eLearning course for iHRIS administrators. The Ministry has also trained most of the administrators in basic use of the system, focusing on report generation. The next step will be rolling iHRIS out to the districts and integrating it into Botswana's larger health information system.