Digital maturity of Seychelles’ health sector in the spotlight By Sunny Esparon |18 October 2023
Delegates and guests in a souvenir photograph
A four-day workshop is taking place in Seychelles to assess the level of digital maturity in the health sector in Seychelles.
This is being done by the Ministry of Health in partnership with the Commonwealth secretariat, (ComSec) and the World Health Organisation (WHO).
The primary goal of this workshop is to establish the present digital health maturity assessment (DHMA) for the Ministry of Health (MoH) of Seychelles, under guidance from global partners – WHO and ComSec.
This will serve as a baseline for future assessments to track progress in digitisation of the health system in Seychelles.
During the launch ceremony that took place yesterday morning at the Laila Resort, Anse Royale, health minister, Peggy Vidot, stated that in this era marked by rapid technological progress, the integration of digital health solutions emerges as a critical imperative.
“Seychelles embarks on a transformative journey. Leveraging the power of digital innovation to fortify our healthcare systems.”
She noted that digital health presents an array of opportunities as it can empower patients granting them access to their medical records and facilitating informed decisions regarding their health. In addition, it enhances the efficiency of healthcare providers, alleviating administrative burdens and enabling a deeper focus on patient care. Moreover, it substantially improves healthcare accessibility and delivery, particularly in the remote corners of Seychelles.
On a strategic level, both the National Development strategy 2019-2023 and the National Health Strategic Plan 2022-2026 have underscored the significance of IT solutions as a pivotal, crosscutting enabler to achieve national and health sector objectives.
“The forthcoming years will see an even greater emphasis on this front.”
On an operational plane, the Ministry of Health is heartfelt in its commitment to bolstering digital health in Seychelles through several key initiatives. One of which is the investment in an Electronic Health Information system encompassing Electronic Medical Records, which will be readily accessible to all health professionals throughout the system. Concurrently, the ministry is building its capacity to harness this system effectively. Collaboratively, it is working with the department of Information Communication and Technology to ensure robust security for the citizen’s health information.
“Health promotion and communication have evolved significantly especially with the expanded use of social media platforms since the advent of the pandemic.”
Minister Vidot noted that the increased reliance on online platforms for meetings such as Zoom and Teams, continue to thrive.
Furthermore, the disease surveillance system, laboratories, and imagining departments have harnessed digital platforms for some time, enhancing efficiency and accuracy.
The ministry has facilitated online access to training opportunities for health professionals, spanning short courses and remote degree programmes, including through the National Institute of Health and Social Studies.
In partnership with the World Continuing Education Alliance, the ministry has established an online platform for continuous professional development for doctors, nurses, pharmacists and dentists.
“We must also acknowledge the wide use of digital platforms across a multitude of health system functions.” This includes human resources management, budgeting, finance, stock management, and procurement.
In his welcoming remarks, WHO representative, Dr Rex Mpazanje, stated that globally, health care systems are presently experiencing rapid evolution driven by the emergence of new technologies, devices and applications. He proclaimed that digital health is probably the most disruptive emerging technology in terms of changing the way health care is delivered, managed and experienced by patients.
He cited the 71st session of the WHO Regional Committee for Africa adopted implementing the Global strategy on digital health in the WHO African Region in 2022-2025. Since then digital maturity assessment has become the prioritised first step with founding support of the Commonwealth secretariat being channelled through the WHO.
“The assessment involves fostering a shared understanding among national stakeholders, on global bench standards and benchmarks.”
This is followed by a gauging to see how far these countries are towards meeting those standards, as well as coming up with a roadmap addressing any identifiable gaps.
He indicated that the workshop significantly improves the validity of which the assessment will be concluded across all the domains, especially those that fall outside the health sector.
“I therefore wish to thank everybody present here and to encourage rich participation throughout the four days.”
Health advisor of the Commonwealth secretariat, Dr Janneth Mghamba, revealed in her discourse that it is because of the passion of Baroness Scotland of Asthal, Patricia Janet Scotland KC, that there is in place within the secretariat, the Commonwealth Artificial Intelligence Consortium, which was launched earlier this year to deliver a need to equip citizens with skills needed to fully benefit from digital innovation and opportunities within the cyberspace.
“The Commonwealth has not been left behind,” she stated.
She added the world was moving fast and that digital technology and artificial intelligence is really driving the transformation in the health sector. Continuously, digital technology within the pandemic has offered some solutions and aided the facility of the primary health care services within most countries.
Photos by Louis Toussaint
