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 HIV/AIDS
Information management system
To implement such a system would require the buy-in of all the relevant stakeholders. Modern technology makes its design and implementation entirely possible, without extensive capital or human resource expense.
Although the fight against HIV/Aids has recently enjoyed high priority, the biggest obstacle towards a successful effort in fighting the pandemic remains an integrated and coordinated information structure to which all stakeholders has access.
Various government departments, NGOs, research institutions and private companies collect data regarding the pandemic in diverse fields such as HIV/Aids and Sexually Transmitted Diseases (STD) prevalence, behavioural risk factors, mass media impact, Anti Retro Viral (ARV) drug availability and distribution as well as new drug development and testing. This information remains fragmented across the various domains, meaning that at any one time, planning, decision and policy making by any institution or stakeholder is done with only a fraction of the information available.
This situation is detrimental to the effectiveness and relevancy of the planning and decision making process. Coordinated information gathering and updating can be one of the most effective tools in fighting the pandemic. One therefore needs to develop a system that can make this possible on a national level, across all the various domains dealing with HIV/Aids.
Methodology
To implement such a system would require the buy-in of all the relevant stakeholders. Modern technology makes the design and implementation of such a system entirely possible, without extensive capital or human resource expenditure. Data collection sites, such as VCT and antenatal clinics, hospitals, medical research institutions, HIV/Aids survey institutions, ARV testing laboratories, pharmaceutical companies and all NGOs and government institutions gathering local or national information about HIV/Aids must be identified. Through consultation, a master database can be designed on an Oracle or SQL server platform or the like. This master database will consist out of sections of attributes relevant to each site, since a VCT clinic would not capture the same data as a medical research facility, for example. The Master Database will be maintained and controlled from a single point. All the participating sites will be linked to the database via the web with a specific web site developed for the system. On a weekly or monthly basis, the responsible person at each site will update the database specific to that site using a simple front-end application and send it via the web to the Master Database, where it will automatically update that specific section.
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