Newsletter, August 2012

Volume 2, Issue 1 August 2012

Pacific Health Information Network www.phinnetwork.org

PHIN in 2012: Reflecting on achievements and planning for the future Upcoming events: 

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Practical writing for evidencebased decisionmaking, October, Suva, Fiji HIS Short Course, 22—26 October, Suva, Fiji Workshop 1.2, 29 October—2 November, Nadi, Fiji CRVS Short Course, 12—16 November, Brisbane, Australia

Malo e lelei, Ni Sa Bula vinaka, Talofa lava, Kia Orana, Taloha Ni, Fakalofa, lahi atu, Aloha, Namaste, Ulufale mai, Iakwe, Alii, Ko na mauri, Kia ora and hello One year ago this week (16 August 2011) is the exact date when the Regional HIS Strategic Plan was launched during the PHIN Meeting in Nadi, Fiji.

Over the past 12 months a number of PHIN member countries have begun improving their HIS and sharing their progress with the region at large.

mains the right path to follow.

With so much going on, it is important to recognise the significant health information transition occurring in the region. Many regions in the world are yet to benefit from a strategic approach to HIS strengthening such as what we have in the Pacific.

Activities occurring among our member countries are varied, and range from assessments of vital registration systems; development of health data dictionaries; unique achievements such as the Pacific Health Dialog; plus many others.

We should not lose sight that expertise, countries, organisations and development partners are mostly participating on a voluntary basis just for the sake of having better and sound health information systems in our respective countries. It is now that we can help each other through our Regional HIS and Vital Statistics Strategic Plans to maximize country benefits.

Despite all the challenges we face, the overall health information development pathway set out by PHIN re-

To all members, representatives of Pacific Island Countries and Territories, development partners

Pacific Health Dialog Strengthening HIS in the Pacific tion on current issues and challenges for health information in the Pacific.

The publication is also an important testament to the progress of HIS in the region, and will serve to promote recent achievements, goals and developments in HIS. Congratulations again to those PHIN members who contributed articles to the Dialog.

The Special HIS Edition of the Pacific Health Dialog was finalised in July this year, and it provides a unique representa-

Read the Edition online at http://issuu.com/hishub/docs/ pacific_health_dialog_web_26_06_12

and friends, we appreciate your respective contribution in the past 12 months and please bare with us.

Special acknowledgement goes out to the HIS Hub for their professional coordinating and secretariat roles.

Faka’apa’apa atu (Respectfully Yours) PHIN Management Team Sione Hufanga (President) Shivnay Naidu (VicePresident)

4th Pacific NCD Forum ‘Mitigating the Crisis’ In June 2012, participants from 19 Pacific Island Countries and Territories convened in Auckland, New Zealand for the 4th Pacific NCD Forum.

insight into the HIS challenges of NCD prevention and control.

Significant results of the forum was agreement to:

Hosted by WHO and SPC, 1. Work towards a set of and as part of the 2-1-22 Pacific targets, aligned Pacific NCD Program, the with global targets, to forum focused on ensure a unified fight ‘mitigating the crisis’ and against NCDs in the Paaimed to facilitate countries cific and also introduce in identifying and prioritiscountry-specific indicaing actions to strengthen tors as appropriate national NCD responses.

2. Invest in strengthening monitoring, surveillance A small number of PHIN and evaluation of NCD members were also invited outcomes (mortality, to participate and provide disease registration continued on page 2

PHIN Newsletter August 2012

continued from page 1 and certification), exposures (risk factor surveys) and the health system response and use information to guide action.

Civil registration and vital statistics were identified as important components of the health information system that need to be strengthened for effective responses to NCDs. Since the forum, the WHO office in Suva have followed-up with countries to identify technical assistance required to improve vital registration and causeof-death certification.

A work-plan is in development and activities are being coordinated through a number of agencies, including the HIS Knowledge Hub and Secretariat of the Pacific Community.

A Meeting Report is available on the member’s section of the PHIN website.

For more information about PHIN, or go online at www.phinnetwork.org

Pacific Vital Statistics Action Plan There have been many important developments in HIS in the region over the past eight months, and PHIN is pleased to have the support of a number of major development partners working in health information and vital statistics in the Pacific.

One of the most important initiatives established to improve vital statistics is the development of the Pacific Vital Statistics Action Plan by the Secretariat of the Pacific Community (SPC). A number of agencies are involved in implementing this Plan, including the HIS Knowledge Hub, WHO, UNFPA, UNICEF, Fiji National University and Australian Bureau of Statistics.

Numerous activities have already taken place and more are planned for 2013. The following table provides an overview of the countries involved, and activities completed or planned.

Cook Islands, Nauru, Niue, Tokelau, Tuvalu  Assessment of civil registration systems and development of action plans  Multi-stakeholder workshop held in 2011, follow-up workshop planned for October 2012 in Suva Federated States of Micronesia, Marshall Islands, Palau, Guam, Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands  Assessment of civil registration systems and development of action plans  Multi-stakeholder workshop held in April 2012 Fiji, Tonga, Samoa  Vital statistics working groups convened in Fiji and Tonga  Multi-stakeholder meetings planned for September (Fiji) and October (Tonga)  In-country visits in Samoa to prepare for work in 2013 Papua New Guinea, Solomon Islands, Vanuatu, Kiribati  Multi-stakeholder workshop planned for late 2012 or early 2013

Accessing resources, documents, presentations and more As stated in the Regional Health Information Systems If you have any requests for documents, or have reStrategic Plan, one of the key functions of PHIN is to pro- sources available to share with other PHIN members, mote the sharing and application of experiential knowl- please contact the Secretariat (n.hodge@uq.edu.au). edge related to HIS. Recent uploads include: There are a number of ways PHIN members can access key resources, documents and presentations related to  Health data dictionary (Tonga) HIS:  Special HIS edition of the Pacific Health Dialog 1.

All documents are available to download from the  District health management information system PHIN website. Private documents (such as meetpolicy (South Africa) ing minutes, and any documents not for public  Standard operating procedures for data managedistribution) are saved in the ‘member’s only area’ ment (Ghana) 2.

High-priority documents are also available to view  PowerPoint on cause-specific mortality and nononline at www.issuu.com/phin_network communicable diseases 3.

PowerPoint presentations are available to view  PowerPoint on the aims and mission of PHIN online at www.slideshare.net/phin_network  Video on Teanibuaka Tabunga’s (Kiribati) fellow4.

Other media (videos and photos) are available to ship experience with the HIS Hub view online at www.facebook.com