“This new information technology equipment and the data center make our job easier and cancel chances of lost data.”

A system administrator for the Namibia Ministry of Health and Social Services since 2006, Hafeni Haukongo is excited about a change—and improvement—in how the Ministry tracks its health workforce. A new information technology (IT) network is connecting the Ministry headquarters in Windhoek to, eventually, all 13 regions of the country, allowing the Ministry to manage staff at all levels through a human resources information management system (HRIMS). Replacing the old—primarily manual—system, the HRIMS tracks health professionals working in the public sector and captures data on their training, certification, licensing, and deployment.

As information technology team leader for the HRIMS rollout, Haukongo ensures that computers meet the Ministry’s required specifications and that the right IT infrastructure is in place for each site, and he communicates the progress of each region back to the HRIMS team.

A culmination of time spent planning and preparing
Under the USAID-funded Capacity Project, IntraHealth International’s HRIMS support in Namibia started in 2007 with assessments, stakeholder leadership development, and program design. IntraHealth has continued its HRIMS work through the Namibia HIV Prevention, Care and Support Project, which began in late 2008 and is also funded by USAID. Recently, IntraHealth provided equipment—computers and terminals—to six Namibian regions as part of the Ministry's HRIMS rollout. IntraHealth had completed connectivity in three regions, and the last four received equipment and connectivity by the end of September 2010. IntraHealth also developed the Ministry’s new data center, which houses all the Ministry’s infrastructure and application servers in a climate-controlled environment with a fire suppression system and fire-protected walls. An uninterrupted power supply from a diesel generator supports the center.

Skills training allows Ministry staff to run and manage new system
IntraHealth not only supplied equipment but has also trained 134 Ministry staff in computer literacy and 135 in how to use the HRIMS, 4 others in information technology system administration, maintenance, and operation, and 4 in data-driven decision making.

Minister of Health and Social Services Dr. Richard Kamwi says the project "is of paramount importance, as it will be providing us with the necessary information to access our human resources needs, make optimal policy decisions on human resources, plan effectively and assess the performance of our human resources."