IeDA*: four letters to improve children’s healthcare in West Africa. This application is based on the WHO clinical protocol (IMCI) and guides health personnel to diagnose accurately sick children. Data is stored and processed for analyses, reporting and quality control improvements.  IeDA was launched by Tdh in 2011 as a pilot project in 39 centres in the Tougan district in Burkina Faso.

A better diagnosis

What used to be a pilot project in one district is now a major technological innovation: IeDA has been deployed in 30 per cent of all health centres (over 620) in Burkina Faso and its use has spread to Mali in late 2017. 2600 health professionals use IeDA and run 180,000 consultations in Burkina Faso each month. This is a major achievement for the health of children, especially in rural areas: diagnosis has improved and treatment is more adapted to the children’s medical needs. With more than 1.5 million children consulted with the help of this tool, Tdh has made a further step towards guaranteeing the right to health to the children of West Africa.

Data to help understand the local situation

In Burkina Faso, IeDA is an important source of first-hand information for the national vital statistics. Real-time data collection provides valuable and essential information to monitor early warning for epidemic outbreaks.

Training staff

Through e-learning, IeDA also develops the competences of local staff in rural areas. “This is another advantage of this product: it includes coaching and supervision systems, and enables us to improve health care workers training, making them more efficient at diagnosing and treating patients,” says Thierry Agagliate, project co-founder.

Outlook

The goal of IeDA is to make qualitative health care sustainable in West Africa. With Burkina Faso and Mali  using it in their centres, it already shows substantial impact. The London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicines (LSHTM) has been evaluating its impact and cost. Preliminary results clearly show high acceptance and reduction of medicines prescription. In 2018, we launched a consortium with World Vision and Action contre la Faim to integrate the management of malnutrition and expand the tool in neighboring countries.

*IeDA: Integrated e-Diagnostic Approach

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We are proud to work on this project with:

• The Ministry of Health from Burkina Faso and Mali;

• Dimagi (USA), our technological partner developing and maintaining the applications;

• The LSHTM (UK), running three independent studies which evaluate the project impact, cost-effectiveness and feasibility;

• Swiss TPH, to improve the algorithm and project analysis;

• EPFL, working with IeDA to develop new tools to improve diagnostic of malnutrition;

• University Hospital of Geneva (Switzerland), undertaking research to mine and extrapolate data's meaning.

For more information visit: www.ieda-project.org