February 15, 2024 (Mogadishu, Republic of Somalia): The Intergovernmental Authority on Development (IGAD) in collaboration with the European Union and the German government through the Federal Ministry of Economic Cooperation and Development (BMZ) co-funded project and implemented by GIZ handed over IT equipment for Disease Surveillance Delivered to Somalia’s Ministry of Health, today, in Mogadishu.
On the ceremony, representing the IGAD Executive Secretary Workneh Gebeyehu (PhD), Mr. Mohamud Kaarshe, the IGAD Head of Mission for Republic of Somalia, officially handed over the Information Technology hardware equipment to Dr. Marian Mohamed Hussein, State Minister of Health of the Federal Republic of Somalia.
During the handing over ceremony, Dr. Ahmed Bashir – the Lead of the IGAD Health Digitalization Project explained that the IT equipment we are handing over today includes laptops, desktop computers, printers, scanners access points and their respective accessories and the same items will subsequently be delivered across the other Ministries of Health of all other IGAD Member States.
“It is indeed an honor for me and the team that this morning we hand over the IGAD – EU supported IT hardware to the Ministry of Health in Somalia as the third Member State of IGAD for us to roll out after the inaugural handover event that took place in Addis Ababa in August 2023 as our continued effort to strengthen, support disease surveillance and monitoring in the IGAD Member States in our close collaboration with our partners and funders; the European Union (EU), Ministry for Economic and Development (BMZ) and German International Cooperation (GIZ).” He elaborated.
After handing over the IT equipment Dr. Marian Mohamed Hussein, the State Minister of Health disclosed that the Ministry of Health – Somalia will continue to work closely with IGAD through their Digital Health Project team to ensure that the project’s goals are met with Member states sharing health data in a timely manner for better and timely decision making.
Moreover, she expressed that the EU Digital solutions to strengthen disease surveillance and monitoring systems is an EU & BMZ funded project being coordinated by IGAD and implemented by GIZ in the IGAD region with an overall objective of contributing towards mitigating the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic as well as other transmissible diseases in the IGAD region.
“I want to reiterate the IGAD commitment to the project and the profound respect they hold for the EU-led initiative.” She said.
It is stated on the occasion that the distribution of the IT equipment forms an integral part of the project titled “EU Digital Solutions to Strengthen Disease Surveillance and Monitoring Systems for COVID-19 in the IGAD Region.”
The initiative also aims to implement a regional, transnational, and real time monitoring and analysis system (SORMAS) in the IGAD region. This platform will allow flow of health information and data between IGAD Member States towards containment and control of pandemics and prevent propagation across borders. In particular, the hardware procured will improve data management practices (collection, collation, transmission, analysis, and sharing) increasing the efficiency of disease surveillance processes.
The Member States that have so far received IT equipment are Ethiopia, Kenya and Somalia.
The handover is a part of the EU dedicated endeavor in response to the Call of Action by the Heads of State of IGAD countries in 2020.
