Simprints deploying biometrics for healthcare projects in Ghana, Ethiopia, Tanzania

Ghana will soon begin a pilot for an immunization project with a biometric solution from Simprints whereby service delivery of routine maternal and childcare vaccination processes will be monitored through a digital tracking system.

The company also recently announced a project to accelerate the clearance of a trachoma surgery backlog in four regions of Ethiopia.

Meanwhile, in Tanzania, the UK-based biometric identification solution provider says it is engaged in a project aimed at setting up a digitally-enabled primary health care system in a Tanzanian district.

Biometric immunization project in Ghana

Simprints says in a LinkedIn post that the Ghana project was launched recently and it will be implemented in collaboration with the Ghana Health Service (GHS) and local partner Millennium Promise Alliance (MPA).

The project, the post indicates, will begin with a pilot in 10 health facilities in two districts selected by the Ghana Health Service in the country’s Eastern Region. A further 10 facilities will be added as part of the efforts to test various modalities of the biometric technology.

Ghanaian portal My Joy Online meanwhile reports that after the launch of the project, the GHS has already trained some key personnel on insights of the technology to be deployed by Simprints, and they are in turn expected to further train others on the digital tracking system.

The GHS Director General Dr. Patrick Kuma-Aboagye has hailed the advantages of technology.

“I believe that this initiative in the long term will ensure unique patient records created without risk of disease transmission among health workers and patients, reliable data on the number of individuals immunized which leads to more precise coverage rates and faster intervention, avoidance of duplicate records through biometric verification, which can prevent unnecessary double dosing (wasting precious supply), and creating important time and cost savings,” he said during the launch of the project.

The GHS boss praised the trainees for their availability saying it underscores their willingness to join forces with government as it plans to establish “unique identities for our clients as we seek to address bottlenecks in the health interventions, specifically verifying delivery and patient tracking for course completion.”

MPA Country Director Chief Nathaniel Ebo Nsarko lauded the initiative, and pledged his firm’s willingness to help integrate the tech solution with existing systems to enable it better meet the health needs of Ghanaians.

This program using the biometrics solution from Simprints had been announced to begin in October.

Partnership for trachoma surgeries in Ethiopia

In another LinkedIn post, Simprints disclosed it will be working with partners Orbis International and the Children’s Investment Fund Foundation (CIFF) on a project that will involve about 600 health workers to help deliver 125,000 trachoma surgeries in four regions of Ethiopia.

The company said its role in the project will be to provide its biometric solution to verify the trachoma surgery coverage, as well as support continuity-of-care during follow-up health visits by concerned patients.

Afya-Tek digitally-enabled healthcare system for Tanzania

Meanwhile, in Tanzania, Simprints says it is part of a project that seeks to put in place a primary healthcare delivery system based on digital technology.

The company said in a post on LinkedIn that it is participating in the Afya-Tek project which uses biometrics to support health workers assess danger signs in vulnerable populations and allow them access services in both the public and private sectors in the Kibaha district of Tanzania’s Pwani Region.

Afya-Tek has since 2019 been working on a citizen-centered digitized primary healthcare system in Tanzania which seeks to improve case management and improve the well-being of children, adolescents and their families in the Kibaha district.

Article Topics

Africa  |  biometric identification  |  biometrics  |  digital identity  |  Ethiopia  |  Ghana  |  healthcare  |  identity verification  |  patient identification  |  SimPrints  |  Tanzania