The district has 110 wards, each with its own ward AIDS councils but government officials who make decisions about how money for health services is allocated are struggling to get information from the community level.
App to Fight HIV/AIDS in the eThekwini District
This has led to a new partnership led by eThekwini metro and the Durban University of Technology, together with the KwaZulu-Natal Office of the Premier and technology firm Siyaleader.
The project hinges on an application (app) that enables officials to track individual performance of caregivers in every ward, indicating where health services aren’t functioning.
Everyone working on HIV care in the wards can log in with their own username and report on what they are doing, while officials involved in management at the metro level can monitor what is going on in each ward and where people need support.
The project has received a 12-month grant of £96,944 from governance initiative Making All Voices Count and provides a great example of how development projects can in fact, be government-led.
“Too often in innovation for governance projects, government is the last to be involved, or worse, not involved at all. In this project however, government is in the lead and all parties are working together to solve the same problem,” says MAVC programme officer Gontse Legong.
“Our entry point is someone who is HIV positive, but if we find this person is in need of other life-enhancing services, we’ll be able to assist. For example, someone who is homeless will be assisted to apply for housing assistance, or someone who can’t get access to care due to a lack of documentation will be assisted in this also,” says project manager Welcome Mbokazi.
“We’re excited to be working with key actors, as well as using new and existing technology, to fight HIV/ Aids in the eThekwini District,” says Mbokazi. – Health-e News.
