Arba Minch Health and Demographic Surveillance System Unit in collaboration with College of Medicine and Health Sciences has organized a two-day training for College of Medicine and Health Sciences’ staff members and researchers in Open Data Kit (ODK) software to streamline data collection and entry process, Coordinator, Gistane Ayele, said. Click to see the pictures

Gistane further, adds ODK is open-source software for collecting, managing and using data in resource-constrained environments. It’s cost-effective and timely because our staff members previously would go to site and manually collect data and a person back in office will make entry that often cause errors. This software will iron out chances of errors and holistically strengthen data collection and entry process.

ICT expert, Mr Alazar Baharu administering the training to over 50 staff members taught how to prepare questionnaires in excel format and convert them to XMLS form to upload in database.

Speaking about her office’s mandate, she said, our office is continuously collecting data, from 9 kebele (villages) of Arba Minch Zuria district, about 27 staff members presently busy doing this of which five are supervisors spread in Chano Chalba, Shelle Mela, Zeyse Dinbile, Laka, Gatse and other kebeles.

They collect demographic related data i.e. death, birth, migration, child immunization, etc. which is being done twice a year and information collected from households are periodically updated, she added.

(Corporate Communication Directorate)