IeDA - A digital solution to save children's lives
IeDA*: four letters to improve children’s healthcare in West Africa. This approach is based on the WHO clinical protocol (IMCI) and guides health personnel to accurately diagnose sick children. Data is stored and processed for analysis, reporting and quality control improvements. IeDA was launched by Tdh in 2014 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 almost 62 per cent of all health centres (over 1189) in Burkina Faso and its use has spread to Mali in late 2017. Several thousand health professionals use IeDA and run more than 200,000 consultations 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 two 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.
Impact
The goal of IeDA is to make qualitative health care sustainable in West Africa. The London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine (LSHTM) has been evaluating its impact and cost in Burkina Faso. In the centres implementing IeDA, 92% of the consultations of children under five are made with the innovation. Results clearly show the high acceptance of the tool and a reduction between 6 and 15% of antibiotics over prescription. When IeDA is used, there is a 50% improvement in adherence to the IMCI protocol. If scaled up to the whole country, there would be CHF 33 to 66 savings per centre each month.
Watch the video interview with Karl Blanchet, IeDA Research Director
Outlook
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. In the future, Tdh will develop powerful algorithms using Artificial Intelligence to assess the quality of medical consultations in real time and to assist medical teams in different contexts.
*IeDA: Integrated e-Diagnostic Approach
Watch our documentary about the first years of IeDA in Burkina Faso:
We are proud to work on this project with:
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The Ministry of Health from Burkina Faso and Mali;
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Dimagi (USA), our technological partner developing and maintaining the applications;
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The LSHTM (UK), running three independent studies which evaluate the project impact, cost-effectiveness and feasibility;
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Swiss TPH, to improve the algorithm and project analysis;
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EPFL, working with IeDA to develop new tools to improve diagnostic of malnutrition;
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University Hospital of Geneva (Switzerland), undertaking research to mine and extrapolate data's meaning.
"We have drastically reduced the number of incorrect diagnoses thanks to IeDA and the children benefit from better treatment."
Dr. Robert Kargougou, Secretary General for the Ministry of Health of Burkina Faso
Read more...Where we work
Supported by
Financial partners
The Global Fund partnership mobilizes and invests nearly US$4 billion a year to support programs run by local experts in countries and communities most in need: https://www.theglobalfund.org/en
Financial partners
The European Commission’s Humanitarian Aid department (ECHO) funds relief operations for victims of natural disasters and conflicts outside of the European Union.
> ec.europa.eu/echo
Financial partners
The Swiss Agency for Development and Cooperation (SDC) is Switzerland’s international development cooperation agency within the Federal Department of Foreign Affairs (FDFA). By providing financial means, it supports more than forty projects of Terre des hommes in several geographical regions. Terre des hommes cooperates directly with the SDC, particularly with the departments Regional Cooperation, Humanitarian Aid and Cooperation with Eastern Europe.
> www.ddc.admin.ch
Financial partners
The Novartis Foundation aims at improving access to adequate healthcare in low- and middle-income countries through innovative and outcome-based approaches that guarantee efficiency, effectiveness and sustainability. Its focus is on reducing both infectious and non-communicable diseases through projects that can be scaled up and are developed through local capacity with the help of international research and technical expertise.
In Burkina Faso, the Foundation supports the IeDA project (Integrated e-Diagnostic Approach), through which data from 400 rural primary health centers are computerized and analyzed in order to increase the efficacy of treating children under the age of five years and thus reduce child mortality.
Financial partners
UNICEF is a UN agency that promotes children’s rights, ensures their development and fights against all poverty, violence, disease and discrimination they may face. UNICEF supports the activities of Tdh in various fields, such as in the fight against child trafficking, juvenile justice, malnutrition, in psychosocial activities or in emergency operations.
> www.unicef.org
Financial partners
As a provider of international cooperation services for sustainable development and international education work, GIZ is dedicated to building a future worth living around the world: https://www.giz.de/en
Financial partners
The European Union (EU), composed of the Member States and the European Commission, is the world’s biggest aid donor. The Commission’s EuropeAid co-operation office manages EU external aid programmes and implements development assistance worldwide. EuropeAid works in close collaboration with its partners to ensure coherence, complementarity and coordination in its assistance programmes. EuropeAid currently supports the projects of Terre des hommes against violence towards children (in Afghanistan and in Burkina Faso), for food security (in Burkina Faso) and for child protection and rights (in Brazil, Burundi and in Haiti). (Situation 04.11.2016)
Financial partners
We use our combined nonprofit and technical expertise to help grantees apply cutting-edge technology to program areas where a new or different use of data can unlock significant impact. For technology to be an effective lever for change, true partnerships are essential. We aim to establish deep and long-term partnerships with organizations and institutions globally who recognize the systemic political, social, and economic causes of problems such as poverty, climate change, or health inequities and who use data to make decisions and take action.
Financial partners
ITU is the United Nations specialized agency for information and communication technologies - ICTs.
Financial partners
Unitaid works with partner organizations to leverage innovation for global health.
Financial partners
Our mission is turning complex diagnostic challenges into simple solutions to overcome diseases of poverty and transform lives.
Financial partners
We help people see and understand data. Seven words that drive everything we do. And they've never been more important.
The Global Fund partnership mobilizes and invests nearly US$4 billion a year to support programs run by local experts in countries and communities most in need: https://www.theglobalfund.org/en
The European Commission’s Humanitarian Aid department (ECHO) funds relief operations for victims of natural disasters and conflicts outside of the European Union.
> ec.europa.eu/echo
The Swiss Agency for Development and Cooperation (SDC) is Switzerland’s international development cooperation agency within the Federal Department of Foreign Affairs (FDFA). By providing financial means, it supports more than forty projects of Terre des hommes in several geographical regions. Terre des hommes cooperates directly with the SDC, particularly with the departments Regional Cooperation, Humanitarian Aid and Cooperation with Eastern Europe.
> www.ddc.admin.ch
The Novartis Foundation aims at improving access to adequate healthcare in low- and middle-income countries through innovative and outcome-based approaches that guarantee efficiency, effectiveness and sustainability. Its focus is on reducing both infectious and non-communicable diseases through projects that can be scaled up and are developed through local capacity with the help of international research and technical expertise.
In Burkina Faso, the Foundation supports the IeDA project (Integrated e-Diagnostic Approach), through which data from 400 rural primary health centers are computerized and analyzed in order to increase the efficacy of treating children under the age of five years and thus reduce child mortality.
UNICEF is a UN agency that promotes children’s rights, ensures their development and fights against all poverty, violence, disease and discrimination they may face. UNICEF supports the activities of Tdh in various fields, such as in the fight against child trafficking, juvenile justice, malnutrition, in psychosocial activities or in emergency operations.
> www.unicef.org
As a provider of international cooperation services for sustainable development and international education work, GIZ is dedicated to building a future worth living around the world: https://www.giz.de/en
The European Union (EU), composed of the Member States and the European Commission, is the world’s biggest aid donor. The Commission’s EuropeAid co-operation office manages EU external aid programmes and implements development assistance worldwide. EuropeAid works in close collaboration with its partners to ensure coherence, complementarity and coordination in its assistance programmes. EuropeAid currently supports the projects of Terre des hommes against violence towards children (in Afghanistan and in Burkina Faso), for food security (in Burkina Faso) and for child protection and rights (in Brazil, Burundi and in Haiti). (Situation 04.11.2016)
We use our combined nonprofit and technical expertise to help grantees apply cutting-edge technology to program areas where a new or different use of data can unlock significant impact. For technology to be an effective lever for change, true partnerships are essential. We aim to establish deep and long-term partnerships with organizations and institutions globally who recognize the systemic political, social, and economic causes of problems such as poverty, climate change, or health inequities and who use data to make decisions and take action.
ITU is the United Nations specialized agency for information and communication technologies - ICTs.
Unitaid works with partner organizations to leverage innovation for global health.
Our mission is turning complex diagnostic challenges into simple solutions to overcome diseases of poverty and transform lives.
We help people see and understand data. Seven words that drive everything we do. And they've never been more important.
Timeline
Related publications
Courage no. 57 - Can digital technology save lives?
Economic impact study of the Integrated eDiagnosis Approach (IeDA)
Realist evaluation of the Integrated electronic Diagnosis Approach (IeDA)
Alliance for integrated e-DIAgnostic
IeDA impact study
