This community innovation has been accepted at the 2025 DHIS2 Annual Conference
EdoVoice: DHIS2-powered Citizens Reporting
Effective governance and responsive service delivery relies on the populace who are largely uninvolved in governance except during elections in low and middle income countries. This contributes to the problem of lack of access to quality public services exacerbated by a lack of accurate, real time data, especially in rural and underserved communities in Nigeria, preventing their voices from being heard in government decision making processes. EdoVoice, a DHIS2 powered citizens reporting platform, addresses this gap by creating a bridge between citizens and government services, facilitating the integration of citizen reported data into government operations, particularly in marginalized communities. Through empowering citizens to share real time feedback, EdoVoice enhances transparency and accountability in the decision making process by amplifying the voices of underserved populations and providing validated, actionable data that MDAs (Ministries, Departments, and Agencies) can use to target interventions effectively. EdoVoice’s innovative framework involved deploying trained agents across 12 Local Government Areas (LGAs) to whom citizens could submit their reports via the open source District Health Information System version 2 (DHIS2) repurposed for the program. The DHIS2 Capture app was adapted with a comprehensive drop down menu of variables and an option for explanatory free text input, enabling reporters to provide context rich observations. Each submission was geo tagged, allowing the creation of location based clusters on DHIS2 maps to identify dominant issues and their convergence points. These reports, enriched with geo located and community specific information, are subsequently verified by trained data checkers and are then forwarded to the appropriate unit of government where they are promptly addressed. After addressing the report, the respective unit of government reports the issue as “resolved” and a feedback notification is forwarded to the citizen. EdoVoice gathered over 10,500 unique reports during a 1-year timeframe. The findings from EdoVoice highlight the transformative impact of integrating citizen feedback into governance processes. It facilitated the prompt resolution of critical gaps in infrastructure and services, playing a vital role in enhancing public trust by ensuring that citizen-reported issues are addressed transparently and effectively. The geospatial insight proved instrumental in guiding responsible MDAs toward efficient post-reporting action, as they could more precisely determine areas requiring urgent attention. The initiative created an impact story of leveraging technology for inclusive governance and community empowerment by ensuring that even the most remote communities are heard, and citizens play an active role in equitable governance. EdoVoice exemplifies how digital tools can enhance the inclusivity of governance systems, fostering a participatory approach that ensures every community’s needs are recognized and addressed. This approach strengthens the social contract, thereby promoting a governance model where citizen feedback is not only valued but also drives meaningful change.
Primary Author: Ahmad Ibrahim
Keywords:
Inclusive governance, real-time data, community empowerment, marginalized communities, DHIS2, data-driven decision-making, Nigeria, capacity building.
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Really thoughtful innovation!