Simprints and JSI: strengthening Ethiopia’s community health system
Dr. Girma Tadesse Birru, eCHIS Project Manager at JSI, writes a guest blog reflecting on the collaboration between JSI and Simprints.
The journey of Simprints and JSI in Ethiopia is one of collaboration, innovation, and impact. Over the past decade, Simprints has evolved from an ambitious startup to a global leader in ethical biometric technology. Our partnership on the Electronic Community Health Information System (eCHIS) has demonstrated how digital solutions can transform community health services and improve healthcare delivery at the last mile.
The beginning of a transformative collaboration
JSI and Simprints’ partnership on eCHIS began as part of a broader effort to digitize Ethiopia’s community health system supported by the Children’s Investment Fund Foundation (CIFF). eCHIS was designed to equip frontline health workers with digital tools to enhance the provision of quality health extension programs (HEPs), service delivery to the community, data accuracy, and decision-making. However, one of the key challenges was ensuring accurate and reliable identification of clients in remote and underserved areas.
This is where Simprints’ biometric technology played a crucial role. By integrating Simprints’ biometric identification system into eCHIS, we aim to bridge gaps in patient tracking and data integrity, ensuring that every individual receives the care they need without duplication or misidentification.
The eCHIS project: strengthening Ethiopia’s primary healthcare system
eCHIS is a flagship initiative that leverages digital health tools to enhance the work of Ethiopia’s Health Extension Workers (HEWs). These frontline workers play a critical role in delivering essential healthcare services, including maternal and child health, immunizations, and disease prevention. The digital tool also allows electronic referral linkage with care providers at cluster health centers and empowers the HEP focal person to monitor the performance of HEWs and provide feedback for improvement.
Through our partnership, Simprints’ biometric tools have been deployed across multiple health posts, allowing HEWs to register and verify patients accurately.
The impact of our partnership
The results of our collaboration have been remarkable. By integrating biometric technology into eCHIS, we have seen significant improvements.
- Patient identification: Ensuring that every patient is correctly registered, reducing the risk of duplicate records and improving follow-up care.
- Health worker efficiency: HEWs now spend less time on administrative tasks and more time delivering critical health services.
- Data accuracy: Reliable patient data supports better decision-making at local and national levels, contributing to more effective health interventions.
Moreover, our mentorship and troubleshooting initiatives have provided continuous technical support to health workers, empowering them with the skills needed to maximize the benefits of digital health tools.
Reflecting on Simprints’ journey and the future ahead
As Simprints celebrates its 10-year anniversary, it is inspiring to reflect on how far we have come together. From the early stages of piloting biometric technology to sharing our vision of scaling up a nationwide digital health system, Simprints has remained committed to ethical, inclusive, and sustainable innovation.
The synergy from the collaborative work helped both parties to address successfully those multifaceted digital transformation challenges in the Ethiopian context. So aligning our plan, optimally integrating our priorities, and addressing technical issues in a harmonized manner were key to achieving the highest level of trust and dependable partnership we attained with Simprints.
Looking ahead, our partnership continues to hold immense potential. As we work to expand eCHIS and refine our biometric solutions, we remain dedicated to strengthening Ethiopia’s health system, ensuring that no one is left behind in accessing quality healthcare.
On behalf of JSI and the eCHIS team, I extend my deepest congratulations to Simprints on this milestone. Here’s to another decade of collaboration, innovation, and transformative impact in global health.
