Figure 2: Summary of Kuunika's progress review (Dec 2020

Figure 2: Summary of Kuunika's progress review (Dec 2020)

Special Study 1 seeks to describe how the programme engaged with the Government of Malawi’s COVID19 pandemic response as it evolved. It will look for evidence of the hypothesised permanent increased use of digital systems during the pandemic and explore how Kuunika and the Malawian government can build on that impetus. The specific aims of this study are: • to identify and analyse evidence (including quantified evidence, where available) for a permanent, COVID19 pandemic-driven ‘surge’ in demand for digital data in the Malawi health sector and its use in decisionmaking; • to explore the role of Kuunika in responding to and sustaining that digital surge; • to identify which aspects of Kuunika project design, activities and implementation were most important in a) supporting the immediate monitoring response and b) sustaining a step change in digital data use thereafter.

• to identify other (non-Kuunika) key contextual determinants promoting or limiting a digital surge and its sustainability, post-COVID-19, in Malawi’s health sector. • to draw out lessons and recommendations for the design and sequencing of new digital health sector programmes that can build on and embed any ‘digital surge’ into national health systems.