Resources

In 2021, the Tanzania Ministry of Health, with support from PATH Tanzania, conducted a survey of health management information system (HMIS) focal people throughout Tanzania, and key informant interviews in targeted regions. The assessment was intended to document the data use practices supported by the District Health Profiles (DHP), and determine whether DHPs have facilitated data use at the council level, including how DHPs are being used to make decisions related to annual planning, and develop the annual comprehensive council health plans.Thee Tanzanian Ministry of Health, Community Development, Gender, Elderly and Children (MOHCDGEC) adopted a cross-sectional, mixed-methods approach for this assessment, applying qualitative and quantitative data-collection methods. MOHCDGEC used purposive and convenience sampling methods to recruit participants for the assessment. For the qualitative component of the assessment, MOHCDGEC mainly used key informant interviews (KIIs) with select national level staff and council level staff from six selected councils, as well as observation and document reviews, to gather findings. For the quantitative component, MOHCDGEC used online questionnaires disseminated to health management information systems focal people in all 184 councils in Tanzania.The assessment showed that majority of participants in both study groups (council level and national level respondents for KIIs and health management information system focal people for the surveys) acknowledged that there was demand for DHPs in decision-making meetings. The main users of DHPs were found to be members of council health management team (CHMT), and other users included development partners, councilors and research institutions. The assessment found that the primary uses for DHPs were to identify health problems and gaps, aid planning and budgeting, support district showcasing, identify disease trends, and aid in decision making. Despite the reported demand and the various uses for DHPs that respondents named, the findings also pointed to the perception that most of the councils were not allocating budgets for DHP preparation, production, and dissemination. The study also showed that the majority of CHMT members had never received any DHP training. The most common methods used to sensitize stakeholders to DHPs and make them aware of the existence of and potential uses for DHPs, were meetings, workshops, and seminars. The assessment findings also showed that the majority of councils were not producing the DHPs on time. Finally, the assessment respondents reported that the main challenges to using data from DHPs were lack of budget allocated for DHPs, difficulty in finding data due to changes in administration area, low commitment of stakeholders, low DHP priority, low data quality from data sources, and inadequate resources for the development and dissemination of DHPs.

Medical devices are a critical but often overlooked component for effective facility-based care, especially for women and children. Many medical devices have unique characteristics that make them difficult to manage effectively, particularly in low-resource settings. For instance, some devices can serve multiple clinical uses across different health programs—complicating ownership and funding responsibilities. They can sometimes require extensive training, ongoing preventive maintenance, and a reliable supply of specialized parts and accessories.This fact sheet offers an overview of the Scaling Access to Lifesaving Equipment (SCALE) project—which builds on previous research and initiatives under Market Dynamics for Medical Devices. Through this project, PATH will identify and test promising new business and operating models, while strengthening the underlying systems for managing all durable medical devices and equipment. With a vision that patients should have reliable access to device-related health services, this project seeks to ensure medical devices are available and functional in sufficient quantities across health facilities.

Microarray patch (MAP) technologies can address the need for improved presentations of vaccines. The PATH Center of Excellence for MAP Technology is advancing MAP development for high priority needs in low- and middle-income countries (LMICs). The development of a vaccine MAP depends on a number of technical, clinical, regulatory, and commercialization factors. To aid in selecting an appropriate antigen, this document overviews key antigen qualities that impact the likelihood of successful technical development for a vaccine MAP.

This document is a resource list and compendium of national-level guidelines and protocols for selected countries based on the neoLENS policy review, as of February 2022.

This document highlights the health impact of a variety of medical devices and health technologies that are in use around the world, such as SoloShot syringes, HEATmarker Vaccine Vial Monitors, Nifty Feeding Cups, Uniject injection systems, and safe water devices. Innovations that have been produced at a scale of million and billions of units as well as recent product introductions addressing critical global health needs are featured.