Written by Cate Paul

Contributors: Carrie Noxon and Nicole Moreno

A step close toward aligning neonatal variables to the national data system

In quarter 2 of 2022, the NEST Tanzania team took a step closer to aligning neonatal inpatient variables for the district, regional and tertiary levels. The exercise involved various stakeholders, including clinicians, professional associations, HMIS representatives, and Ministry of Health representatives. These individuals came together to review and recommend minimal variables to be included in the national District Health Information System 2 (DHIS2). The team developed an inpatient neonatal register that will collect inpatient data with selected indicators that will be linked to DHIS2, contributing to measurements, monitoring, and evaluation. In addition, a post-natal register was discussed to enable following the outcomes for the baby. With these standardized tools and linkage of the data through DHIS2, Tanzania can track neonatal indicators and overall progress, which will assist with planning and informed decision-making for resource allocation for national newborn care.

Innovation partnerships | Olusola Oke, University of Ibadan

Innovation partnerships | Olusola Oke, University of Ibadan

Olusola Oke is a NEST360 Invention Education team member and the Design Studio Assistant Manager at the University of Ibadan (UI) in Nigeria. Mr. Oke visited the United States in October 2022 as part of a bidirectional exchange program to meet his colleagues at Rice360 Institute for Global Health Technologies (Rice360) and NEST360. While in the United States, Mr. Oke shared his insights on fostering innovation capacity through the UI design studio, presenting at conferences in San Antonio, Texas, and Seattle, Washington, and providing a guest lecture at Rice University. He shared the following reflections after his engagement in the bidirectional exchange program.