Nagaland has taken a significant step towards modernizing its malaria surveillance system by adopting paperless data reporting through the Integrated Health Information Platform (IHIP) VBD portal, supported by the World Health Organization (WHO). This transition to digital malaria data collection was highlighted during a one-day training workshop organized by the National Vector Borne Diseases Control Programme (NVBDCP) at the SIRD Auditorium Hall in Kohima.
The workshop, attended by state and district-level health officials, provided valuable insights into the operational aspects of the IHIP VBD portal. Dr Sendimeren Aonok, Additional Director (Medical Education), explained the significance of the platform, developed in consultation with the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare (MoHFW), in enabling real-time reporting of malaria cases and enhancing overall surveillance efficiency. He emphasized that since August 2024, the NVBDCP Nagaland has been successfully submitting malaria-related data electronically, eliminating the need for traditional paperwork.
“This paperless system not only reduces administrative burden but also enables faster data collection and reporting, which are crucial for malaria elimination efforts,” Dr Aonok said. He explained that the IHIP malaria module covers a wide range of functions, including event reporting, outbreak investigations, and monitoring of malaria elimination activities.
The introduction of the paperless system is a major leap forward in public health monitoring, especially as Nagaland tackles emerging and re-emerging public health threats. Dr Aonok noted that the platform aggregates data from multiple sources, including health workers, laboratory staff, surveillance officers, and even artificial intelligence, to provide a comprehensive and real-time overview of the malaria situation in the state.
Dr Naveen Agarwal, WHO IHIP Malaria Focal Point in New Delhi, who also served as the resource person for the workshop, elaborated on the historical context of malaria surveillance in IWHOndia. He highlighted the progress made since 1950, with a drastic reduction in malaria cases from 7.5 crore annually to just 1.76 lakh in 2022. The IHIP platform, he added, is expected to further strengthen India’s malaria surveillance efforts, particularly by enabling early detection, prompt responses, and targeted interventions.
The objective of the training, he said, is to build capacity for IHIP malaria reporting and prepare the state and districts for paperless data submission.
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