🏥 DAC2026 Summary & Wiki/AI: Health Programs & Disease-Specific

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DAC2026 Health Programmes Recap: Technical Configurations, System Architectures, and Implementations

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This summary details the design patterns, software configurations, database integrations, and operational workflows for disease surveillance and specialized clinical health programmes presented at the DHIS2 2026 Annual Conference.

1. Epidemic Intelligence and Disease Surveillance

Ministries and organizations are configuring DHIS2 databases to support both Indicator-Based Surveillance (IBS) and Event-Based Surveillance (EBS).

Integrated Disease Surveillance Architecture (EIDSR)

  • System Integration: The Electronic Integrated Disease Surveillance and Response (EIDSR) system in South Africa is hosted within DHIS2, integrating clinical case registration records, laboratory diagnostic results, and mortality reports [Country Stories].
  • Event-Based Ingestion: The EIDSR schema contains dedicated organizational registries and data entry forms to document and triage unstructured community health alerts, such as unexplained clusters of symptoms or localized animal deaths, alongside routine clinical reporting [Country Stories].

Real-Time Reporting Workflows

  • Reporting Timelines: MSF (MĂ©decins Sans Frontières) Spain transition data shows a shift from a median reporting lag of 3 months under legacy monthly aggregate collection to weekly reporting cycles supported by automated DHIS2 dashboards [Fragile Settings].
  • Gaza Reproductive Health Dashboard: A real-time DHIS2 dashboard tracks maternal and reproductive healthcare data across active clinics, covering a target cohort of 545,000+ women [Humanitarian Webpage].

2. Chronic NCDs and Cancer Registries: Longitudinal Tracking

Non-communicable disease (NCD) surveillance utilizes longitudinal tracking architectures to monitor individual patients across multiple encounters and healthcare levels.

Longitudinal NCD Registries

  • Tracker Configurations: National health systems are deploying DHIS2 Tracker to capture longitudinal patient histories for hypertension, diabetes, and oncological conditions [Chronic NCDs].
  • PHC Clinical Records: In primary healthcare (PHC) clinics, DHIS2 Tracker is configured as an electronic health record. This configuration allows clinical operators to retrieve and view historical clinical observations, documented medication adherence, and diagnostic notes during follow-up patient encounters [Lightweight EMR].

Cancer Registries: ICD-O Standardization

  • Data Models: DHIS2-based cancer registries are designed to structure oncology data by combining topographical (anatomical site) and morphological (histological cell type) classifications [Cancer Registries].
  • Coding Standards: These registries map diagnostic records to the International Classification of Diseases for Oncology (ICD-O-3) standards to enable data sharing with international cancer databases [Cancer Registries].

3. Tracker Configurations for Primary Healthcare

DHIS2 Tracker is utilized as a digital registry to capture individual-level clinical service delivery data in low-resource environments.

Mobile Clinical Operations: Samaritan’s Purse

Samaritan’s Purse deployed a customized DHIS2 configuration to manage patient workflows during free mobile medical, dental, and vision clinics in the United States [Lightning Talks]:

  1. Pre-registration: Mobile operators capture basic demographic data and generate a unique patient ID on tablets running a customized fork of the DHIS2 Android app [Lightning Talks].
  2. SMS Queue Management: The app triggers automated SMS notifications to communicate with patients regarding queue placement and clinical station availability [Lightning Talks].
  3. Data Minimization and Offboarding: To comply with data privacy policies, clinical diagnoses and procedures are documented on physical paper records given to the patient at discharge. The patient’s personal health information (PHI) is then anonymized in the DHIS2 database, leaving only aggregate, de-identified metrics for programmatic planning and supply chain forecasting [Lightning Talks].

Tanzania: Community Health Worker (CHW) System Integration

Tanzania has integrated 7,000 formalized Community Health Workers into its national digital health infrastructure using a linked, multi-system DHIS2 architecture [Lightning Talks]:

  • Workforce Registration: CHW identities, training credentials, and geographic assignments are managed within the national Human Resources for Health Information System (HRHIS) [Lightning Talks].
  • Offline Data Collection: CHWs record field services (such as distribution of insecticide-treated bed nets) using the Unified Community System (UCS), an offline-capable DHIS2 Tracker app on mobile devices [Lightning Talks].
  • Performance-Linked Payroll: UCS service records are securely synced to generate performance metrics, which trigger automated monthly mobile money payments to CHWs based on verified delivery data [Lightning Talks].

4. Supply Chain and Logistics Integration

Integrated configurations link medical supply balances directly to clinical service-delivery points within DHIS2.

Pharmacy Stock Visibility (Somalia)

In Somalia, the ICRC (International Committee of the Red Cross) utilizes DHIS2 for pharmacy stock visibility [Humanitarian Webpage]. This configuration:

  • Binds drug consumption data recorded in clinical programs directly to regional supply inventories.
  • Enables logistics and warehouse managers to monitor stock levels to plan distributions and mitigate the risk of essential medicine stockouts in fragile facilities.

5. Mortality Surveillance and Immunization Microplanning

Perinatal and Maternal Audit: MPDRS

  • Auditing Workflows: Maternal and Perinatal Death Surveillance and Response (MPDRS) systems are configured within DHIS2 Tracker to record clinical investigations of maternal and infant mortalities [Lightning Talks: Mortality].
  • Automated Coding: The implementation uses the Doris coding engine linked to Tracker records to programmatically select the underlying cause of death in compliance with ICD-11 standards [Country Stories].

Childhood Immunization Tracking (Syria)

  • Scale: In northwest Syria, where regional conflict causes significant population displacement, local health organizations use DHIS2 Tracker to maintain continuous individual immunization records [Humanitarian Webpage].
  • Reach: The system tracks longitudinal vaccination schedules for 242,000+ children across conflict-affected areas [Humanitarian Webpage].

6. Documented System Tensions and Constraints

  • Conflict-Zone Data Risk: In highly sensitive environments such as Gaza, capturing identifying demographic records carries severe physical security risks for beneficiaries. In these contexts, systems are designed around strict data minimization guidelines (excluding identifying details) and utilize secure, encrypted upload pathways instead of open messaging platforms [Fragile Settings].
  • The Clinical-Logistical Dependency: Diagnostic accuracy and clinical training do not translate into improved quality of care if medical supply lines fail. Evaluation data from South Sudan shows that if essential medical supplies are out of stock, clinical quality of care metrics decline regardless of the digital tracking platform’s performance [Research Lightning Talks].
  • Humanitarian Database Fragmentation: The deployment of independent, donor-funded DHIS2 instances alongside national public health databases creates data silos. In Somalia, this fragmentation results in double-counting, where combining individual NGO narrative reports shows a vaccination count that exceeds the total estimated child population [Fragile Settings].

7. What to Watch

The technical presentations are available for review on the DHIS2 YouTube channel:

Community Call to Action

Share your technical experience with these database configurations in the thread below:

  • Have you deployed an implementation that integrates supply chain logistics (LMIS) and clinical data within a single DHIS2 instance?
  • What parameters do you use to enforce data minimization and protect patient privacy in sensitive or high-risk environments?
  • What database configurations or clinical form designs have you used to support lightweight EMR workflows via DHIS2 Tracker at primary care sites?
🗓️DAC2026 Thematic Summaries & Wikis/AI