DHIS2: The world’s largest HMIS

A health management information system (HMIS) supports planning, management & decision-making in the health sector. The HMIS typically generates key indicators for routine monitoring of health sector strategies (such as universal coverage of primary care) and health program performance, as well as to inform policy making, quality improvement and resource allocation. Achieving national coverage with a strong HMIS is key to detecting discrepancies in health equity, addressing disparities, and ensuring services reach vulnerable populations, even in low-connectivity and hard-to-reach places.

Routine data such as health service records are the foundation of a strong HMIS, and provide regular, systematic data that empower health managers and policymakers to monitor trends and take timely evidence-informed decisions (WHO). Initially conceived with district health teams in post-apartheid South Africa, DHIS2 is optimized for routine data and responds to data users’ needs at every level of the health system – from frontline health workers to national program staff and policy planners. Our long-standing focus on integrated design principles coupled with robust interoperability features allow DHIS2 to be implemented as part of a national scale information system that emphasizes the sharing, accessibility and reuse of data while reducing duplicative reporting and data silos.

DHIS2 is the most widely used HMIS software in the world, deployed at national scale by more than 70 Ministries of Health, representing key health data about more than 40% of the world’s population. As a WHO Collaborating Centre, HISP supports HMIS strengthening and capacity building in these countries through long-term partnerships between the MoH and the local groups in the HISP network. The DHIS2 digital Health Data Toolkit, developed by HISP in collaboration with WHO, UNICEF, and other partners, promotes the uptake of WHO data standards, improving the analysis and use of routine data in national DHIS2 systems.

On this page, we explore how DHIS2 core software features, implementation tools and training materials help users at all levels of the health system to optimize the use of routine data to improve the management of health services and outcomes.

HISP Centre is proud to be a WHO collaborating center for innovation & implementation research for health information systems strengthening. Our partnership helps countries to advance the WHO-recommended strategy for optimizing routine health information systems like DHIS2 to monitor primary health care and service delivery.

The DHIS2 Health Data Toolkit includes WHO-recommended modules for countries to integrate core indicators and recommended dashboard analyses into the HMIS, following HISP principles for integrated information system design. These efforts are coordinated with the Health Data Collaborative, UNICEF and funding partners like Gavi and The Global Fund.

You can learn more about designing, configuring and implementing DHIS2 as an integrated national-scale system for routine data management through our DHIS2 Academy program. We recommend to check out the following online courses and training material:

• Introduction to DHIS2
• Aggregate data capture & validation fundamentals
• Data quality
• Planning & Budgeting DHIS2 Implementations

DHIS2 design and implementation guidance for HMIS (including 20+ program-specific modules) is available at in the DHIS2 Health Data Toolkit Documentation.

You can also find best practices and lessons learned from countries using DHIS2 as an HMIS around the world on the DHIS2 Community of Practice.