Cambodia Announces Transition of National Health Management Information System to DHIS2
The Ministry of Health of Cambodia has begun work to transition its national health management information system to DHIS2, joining over 80 countries worldwide that trust DHIS2 to power their health data systems.
Cambodia’s Ministry of Health has begun transitioning its national health management information system (HMIS) to the DHIS2 platform, marking a major step toward building a more integrated and sustainable digital health system. The transition will begin with a pilot phase midyear in 2025, followed by a nationwide rollout in 2026. The project is supported by UNICEF Cambodia, the World Health Organization (WHO) country and regional offices, the Clinton Health Access Initiative (CHAI), the government of Japan, Gavi, and HISP Vietnam, part of the HISP network, which will lead technical development of the new system.
The new DHIS2-based HMIS is expected to improve data quality, reduce duplication, and support more effective decision-making across Cambodia’s health sector. It will also lay the foundation for better integration with other national health data systems, including logistics management and electronic medical records.
Cambodia is the latest country to adopt DHIS2 for national health data management, joining a global community working to strengthen health information systems for improved public health outcomes.
Toward a more connected digital health system
The decision to move to DHIS2 comes in response to longstanding challenges in Cambodia’s digital health landscape. The current HMIS supports basic statistical reporting but operates in parallel with other health information platforms that often duplicate data and lack interoperability. National hospitals, for example, are piloting their own systems for managing patient-level data, while parallel initiatives for tracking non-communicable diseases (NCDs) and supply chains highlight the need for unified standards.
In response, Cambodia is also developing a national digital health enterprise architecture and a five-year action plan (2026–2030) that outlines its roadmap for digital transformation. The HMIS transition to DHIS2 is one of the first major steps in implementing this plan.
Collaboration with the HISP Centre
The current effort builds on close engagement between Cambodia and the HISP Centre at the University of Oslo. In September 2024, a delegation led by His Excellency Dr. Lo Veasnakiri, Secretary of State at the Ministry of Health, visited the HISP Centre to explore how DHIS2 could meet Cambodia’s needs for integrated health information systems.
The delegation included representatives from WHO, UNICEF, Gavi, and CHAI, and focused on three priorities: understanding how DHIS2 can be used to modernize Cambodia’s HMIS, logistics tracking, and immunization information systems; developing an action plan for the national rollout of DHIS2; and exploring options for building a drug management and logistics information system.
The visit helped align Cambodia’s digital health priorities with DHIS2 capabilities and established the foundation for ongoing technical collaboration with HISP Vietnam and global partners.
Next steps
Technical development is underway, led by DHIS2 regional implementation partner HISP Vietnam, and multiple training-of-trainers sessions have already been completed. The pilot launch, scheduled for 4 June 2025, will help test the system’s design and functionality in real-world conditions, with insights feeding into the full national rollout planned for 2026.
Through this transition, Cambodia aims to strengthen its health information systems, improve coordination across programs, and lay the groundwork for a long-term digital transformation of its health sector.
