A partnership-driven model for designing and implementing a suite of digital solutions for malaria surveillance

Surveillance systems are the backbone of malaria elimination programs, providing information on where and how transmission is occurring and how interventions should be targeted. However, countries face substantial challenges in rolling out integrated information systems that collect timely, high quality data that facilitate decision making for elimination. To address these challenges, a partnership of organizations under the Digital Solutions for Malaria Elimination project assessed existing surveillance systems in Mesoamerica, Hispaniola, Southern Africa, and Greater Mekong Subregion in order to identify gaps that can be addressed with digital tools. In 2018, this work produced software requirements that inform a suite of digital tools to support end to end malaria surveillance processes. Key requirements included user-friendly mobile applications for field-based work, integrated dashboards for decision support, resource allocation and task management, and targeted map-based visualizations. Since then, a Community of Practice (www.dsme.community) of 29 technology and implementation organizations have come together to advise and develop tools to address these gaps. Core development includes (1) enhancements to DHIS2 to support robust disease transmission analytics, (2) a field-based data collection application for case-based surveillance powered by DHIS2 Android Application; (3) a geospatial application to help plan, execute, and ensure adequate coverage of field-based interventions and focus area investigations, powered by Reveal; and (4) a set of common goods including a common data dictionary for malaria surveillance, a geospatial widget code library, a common geo-registry for storing and hosting geographic data, and implementation materials. The suite of tools is currently in the process of being reviewed and/or field-tested across 12 focus countries by National Malaria Programs, with the support of the Clinton Health Access Initiative. Implementation is expected to continue through 2020 and assessed with a robust monitoring and evaluation framework, with the support of the World Health Organization.