Background
The malaria scorecard was launched in 2018 and is shared with political and technical leadership from governors to district level every quarter. The Scorecard Web Platform was linked to the DHIS2 of Mozambique in April 2020. Setting up interoperability has nearly automated scorecard data population, which is more conducive to timely and consistent production. The malaria scorecard is discussed at the national level with the minister of health and senior management. The performance of key indicators is reviewed, and analysis of the challenges is discussed, and a plan of action is developed on how to resolve the challenges.
How it works
In Mozambique the scorecard is used as part of the routine monitoring mechanisms for the Malaria Fora (Zero Malaria Starts with Me) at national and provincial levels. The scorecard is shared with the President’s office as well as the governors of all provinces in the country. The scorecard is sent in different formats: printed, by email and through WhatsApp. The national and provincial teams produce quarterly reports with recommended actions for the provinces.
Impact
At the high level, since the malaria scorecard was launched, the governors, provincial and district directors, the medical chiefs and the heads of the health facilities can speak about malaria and discuss performance of their districts with more confidence.
Service delivery improvements
The malaria scorecard has significantly expanded the discussion of performance of malaria indicators including the interpretation of what is leading to the good or bad performance of indicators and has increased the engagement in malaria and health related issues at all levels. The National Malaria Control Programme team has held discussions with most of the governors on the malaria scorecard in their provinces. District and provincial levels have undertaken bottleneck analysis and produced action plans to address underperforming indicators.
For example, in response to identified underperformance in the scorecard, training in programme management was provided to district health directors, medical chiefs and malaria focal points. After the training an improvement of management indicator performance was observed, for example the number of activities planned and performed by the programme at provincial and district level improved, and the number of planned supervisions increased from 69% to 84%.
Data quality
In response to low reporting rates, following training of monitoring and evaluation officers, the number of districts sending complete and timely reports to the provinces has also increased to approximately 100%. Training of laboratory staff resulted in the number of laboratories sending data improving from 14% to 67% in the first trimester of 2019.
Use of the malaria scorecard has led to increased focus on data quality, data timeliness and data-driven decision-making. The provincial and district teams indicated that the scorecard will be used to focus support supervision. The DHIS2 linkage further strengthens the availability of quality data in the scorecard.
Key success factors
- The scorecard is produced regularly every quarter with input of provinces.
- The scorecard is shared with the President’s office as well at the governors of all provinces in the country.
- At provincial level, a technical team composed of the provincial director, medical chief, malaria staff and partners is set up to analyse the scorecard and produce actions.
- The scorecard – in addition to being accessed on the Scorecard Web Platform – is sent in different formats: printed, by email and through WhatsApp.