The World Health Organization (WHO) unwavering support for MoHP (Ministry of Health and Population) to fight against COVID-19 has given rise to the Hamro Swasthya mobile Application. It is designed and developed by a collaborative effort of a consortium comprising Progressive Engineers Association of Nepal, Society for Humanism (SOCH) Nepal, Naxa, Code for Core Innovations, Institute of Himalayan Risk Reduction, and IT Maps and Consult as per the need of MoHP. Hamro Swasthya, which runs in both android and IOS is Nepal Government’s official application to track and monitor COVID-19 in real-time.
Check the links:
https://covid19.mohp.gov.np/hospital/covid_hospital.html
https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=ciaa
In the time of the pandemic, the government must uphold citizens Right to Health and Information. Meanwhile, it should not exert more pressure on the existing health facilities and information systems. In the process of delivering health facilities and information, it should be transparent and accountable to its citizen. Hamro Swasthya, being a mobile application and running on both android and IOS can deliver all of these within one platform. This application is user-friendly and secure. It is easy to use and doesn’t store sensitive data of the users. Furthermore, it follows the data privacy policy outlined in the Nepal Public Health Service Act, 2075 and The Privacy Act, 2075 (2018). To date, it has more than 5 million active users, and it’s on the rise.
Hamro Swasthya is crucial in fighting against COVID-19. Its design makes it easy to collect data and classify as per the need. It has made visualization of the COVID-19 cluster possible and contact tracing easier and effective. Consequently, controlling the outbreak of COVID-19. Hamro Swasthya has different features. Its Bluetooth sharing feature informs users of the potential case in the nearby vicinity. After that, the user can follow additional preventive measures. In addition, it has features like Tele-health and Plasma donation, with Tele-health users can fill up the simple form and contact the doctors. With plasma donation, the application makes it easier to find the potential plasma donor among the users. Other than this, Hamro Swasthya users can track their symptoms and treat them accordingly.
In the fight against COVID-19, vaccination is an ultimate alternative, and Hamro Swasthya could help immensely. When upgraded, it can perform real-time temperature tracking of the stored vaccines. Similarly, it can track vaccine stock and distribution. It can also help users fill up the form for vaccination and gather feedback from the vaccinated people.
The SOCH Nepal and Code for Core Innovations, who designed and developed the Hamro Swasthya Application for MoHP are working closely with the WHO and MoHP. They help in the operation of the application, similarly, provide necessary training to WHO and MoHP on how to operate it. Furthermore, Technical glitches and problems that arose are dealt with by the same team. They provide data to EDCD (Epidemiology and Disease Control Division) center, analyse those data, and upload it to the website.
Hamro Swasthy’s contribution to the fight against COVID-19 is exceptional. Many News Channel, online news portals and papers have featured it. Similarly, national and international agencies have recognized Hamro Swasthya as a game-changer in this fight. For its contribution, it has won the prestigious ICT (Information and Communication Technologies) award 2020.
In a short time, Hamro Swasthya has brought immense change in the fight against COVID-19. Hence, it has become one of the most successful and downloaded applications in Nepal’s history, with millions of users. Hamro Swasthya is the property of MoHP and can be used effectively in post covid era to fight against different health problems.