New mobile app to revolutionise collection of health information

The app, known as mJALI (Mobile Jamii Afya Link), will enable community health volunteers in Bungoma County to collect and relay data on key health indicators during household visits and refer patients to health facilities, revolutionising how community level health data is collected and used for decision-making.

Speaking at the launch of mJALI, Nicole Sijenyi Fulton, Team Leader, MANI project said:

“We’re really excited to showcase this mobile phone application in Bungoma County. mJALI is quicker and easier to use than traditional paper-based data systems and it incorporates all of the Ministry of Health’s data collection tools for the Community Health Strategy. mJALI will address the challenges of community data quality including accuracy, completeness and timeliness of reporting, improving the reliability of this data for decision making. This means it is possible to track and encourage women to attend all the clinic appointments they need to keep themselves and their baby safe.”

The mobile application is expected to improve health data collection and will also assist in decision making on health matters at community level. The information collected will be fed into the District Health Information System, a government owned, unified reporting system.

The event was attended by Mr. Stephen Kokonya, Bungoma County Executive Committee Member for Health, who said:

“mJALI will ease the process of referrals from the community to the facility, and there is room for scaling up. The Ministry is ready to share the challenges in health that the MANI project faces. The destiny of our health is in our own hands, within households and communities.”

The MANI project will roll mJALI out to 20 community units in Bungoma County, and will support the county government to assess its viability for further scale-up.