An Information Retrieval System for Health Care Services in Somalia: A Strategy for Implementation
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Date
1997-05
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Addis Ababa University
Abstract
Somalia has been characterized by a complex emergency situation since the end of
the 1980s. Shortly before the former president was ousted out of power, with the
disintegration of the country in 1991, the government collapsed , and various clans took
charge of the different parts of the country. In general, Somalia has no viable information
systems in all fields of economic development, and serious security problems have made
these difficult, if not impossible. In the absence of centralised government and the present
security situation, it was not possible to cover the whole country, therefore, this study was
conducted in the Northwest zone of the country.
The North-West Zone of Somalia (Somaliland) has been in reconstruction and
development phase since 1993. A local administration was established, and at the time this
study was carried out, security problems were less serious than in many of the other parts
of Somalia. With the support of international relief agencies the central health authority
was re-established and the basic health services were restored. Today, the management,
of these services are hampered by the lack of reliable , timely and relevant information.
The status of the health of the people in the zone is assessed on the basis of scanty
information which has been routinely collected from health facilities and special surveys.
Although, there were a lot of improvements in the collection of basic health data, yet it
was difficult, if not impossible , to , analyze and calculate reliable indicators from the
available data and provide ways of measuring the health needs of the people and the impact
of health care services.
The scope of this study was to examine the current health information system with
the view to come up with suggestions and recommendations of the possible ways by which
the system can be improved for better services.
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Keywords
Information Retrieval System for Health Care Services