Iraq Health Cluster Database in 2018 - WHO
During our 2018 User Conference, Amar Sabah Nore from WHO presented an update on the how the Health Cluster has leveraged ActivityInfo to improve data management over the past four years.
Prior to the introduction of ActivityInfo in 2014, Amar explained, the health cluster used Google Forms to collect data from partners. This was problematic because the data only flowed one way -- once the data was submitted, the partners had no access to it, and couldn't make any corrections or updates.
In addition, it wasn't possible to set granular permissions for partners or apply security rules.
The Health Cluster decided to adopt ActivityInfo because, as a tool designed to support monitoring and evaluation for humanitarian and development operations, it improved significantly on the generic online forms.
ActivityInfo allowed them to monitor in real-time the activities of WHO and other health partners. Far from being one-way, cluster members could update their own data, and get a read-only perspective of the entire cluster's activity. ActivityInfo's reporting tools put the power of analysis into the hands of practitioners and reduced the need for statistical support.
Amar and his colleagues support the system by providing regular training sessions to update health partners about new features of ActivityInfo, and have prepared a data entry manual specifically for their cluster.
Amar works for the WHO as the Health Cluster's Health Data Officer and has 18 years of experience in the Data Management Field.