This community innovation has been accepted at the 2026 DHIS2 Annual Conference as a digital poster.
From Trainings to National DHIS2 Ownership
Sustaining DHIS2 at national scale requires more than periodic training.It requires mechanisms that turn learning into delivery and reduce reliance on external support. In 2025, the Ministry of Health, Maldives implemented a coordinated, multi donor supported initiative to strengthen DHIS2 national ownership and sustainability through a single year “capacity to delivery” approach. What was new was the use of multiple mechanisms in parallel within the same year, multi donor engagement to identify priority capacity areas, hands on training aligned to national priorities, year round mentoring and troubleshooting, and participation in regional/global DHIS2 peer learning forums. A key success factor was strengthening a mixed in country team where programme and technical staff jointly maintain and enhance DHIS2 trackers and aggregate reporting. The approach ensured that capacity building was applied to real tasks maintaining the platform, improving dashboards and data use, implementing programme driven enhancements, expanding routine reporting, and developing APIs and requirement driven extensions. In 2026, a University of Oslo (UiO) led DHIS2 capacity assessment is ongoing to validate and refine capacity gaps identified in 2025 and to guide the next phase roadmap. The assessment is being used to map roles and skills across teams, confirm priority areas for future capacity building, and institutionalize follow up actions through role based learning plans and mentored delivery milestones. This initiative has strengthened system governance and continuity by shifting day to day maintenance and enhancements to the in house team, improving collaboration between programme units and the HIS section, and reducing dependence on external consultants. It demonstrates how coordinated multi donor engagement, continuous mentoring, peer learning, and assessment guided planning can enable sustained, nationally led DHIS2 improvement and innovation.
Primary Author: Mariyam Asna Saeed
Keywords:
DHIS2, Maldives, national ownership, sustainability, capacity building, multi-donor, mentoring, Tracker