Earlier this year, the Republic of Congo launched a project to speed up its digital transformation. In support of the move, the country’s partners have launched the "Mangwele" application designed to enhance the health information system.
On Wednesday, July 5, Congolese and Japanese authorities launched the "Mangwele" application, an SMS-based vaccination reminder system, at the Tenrikyo Integrated Health Center in Makélékélé.
The new system aims, among other things, to remind parents, particularly mothers, of their children's vaccination appointments according to the schedule of the Expanded Program on Immunization (EPI).
Lancement ce matin au CSI de Tenrikyo de MANGWELE. Grâce à ce projet financé par @JapanGov, votre bébé est enregistré dès la naissance et vous recevez un 📩 de rappel 3 jours avant chaque rdv de💉 #UNICEFTHXJAPAN @MofaJapan_en @ODA_mofa_japan @UNICEFinJapan pic.twitter.com/l7OFaArnn8
— UNICEF Congo Brazza (@UNICEFcongoBZV) July 5, 2023
"Through this project, health personnel will be able to follow the status of birth registrations and track each child's vaccinations by recording this information in a national database. This system will allow for individualized monitoring and ensure that all children receive all the necessary vaccines, even if they move regions," explained Satoko Morito, the First Secretary of the Japanese Embassy in Congo, representing the ambassador.
Mangwele’s launch is part of the UNICEF’s Digital Health System Support Project which fights infectious diseases in Africa. Japan spent $3.3 million on the launch.
The Democratic Republic of Congo and Benin are the two other beneficiary countries of Japan's financing for the implementation of the digital introduction project for the fight against infectious diseases in Africa.
In the long run, the project will help improve vaccination rates across the continent but also make it easier to analyze and use real-time data, thus enabling better estimation of actual vaccination rates, including routine and COVID-19 vaccination.
Samira Njoya
