Coping with Skilled Human Resources Gaps in the Digital Health Era: Ethiopia’s Experience with the IT Internship Program

Abstract Background: The implementation of digital health systems across Ethiopia requires a robust deployment of skilled human resources. Despite efforts to rollout various digital health initiatives launched by the Ministry of Health (MoH); significant gaps remain due to constraints in human resources. To address this challenge, the MoH partnered with the Data Use Partnership (DUP) to develop and execute an Information Technology (IT) internship program. This initiative was crafted in consultation with key stakeholders such as the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation (BMGF), USAID, and the Job Creation Commission Ethiopia, with the aim of enhancing capacity and bridging the workforce gap in digital health implementation. Case presentation: The Ministry of Health (MoH) and Data Use Partnership (DUP), in collaboration with six universities, initiated a program to recruit and deploy recent graduates in computer science, information technology, software engineering, and health informatics from December 2019 to December 2020. The primary objective was to enhance human resource capacities across different levels of the health system, aiming to improve the quality and utilization of health data. A total of 169 interns underwent a two-week training program on Health Information Systems (HIS) before being deployed to 11 regional health bureaus. During their deployment, IT interns supported the health system by maintaining computer equipment, ensuring data quality, and contributing to COVID-19 response efforts, with a small stipend for their work. Qualitative feedback gathered through interviews with six interns, four representatives from regional health bureaus, two MoH staff members, eight HIS specialists from DUP, and seven focus group discussions (averaging 12 participants per group) indicated that the program significantly strengthened the HIS and facilitated better utilization of high-quality health data across the national health system. Conclusion and recommendations: The internship program supported the deployment and implementation of various digital health tools and HIS programs, resulting in improved utilization of quality data for informed decision-making and actions. The program also provided employment opportunity for the young graduates, contributing to the government's effort of reducing unemployment. This experience in Ethiopia could serve as a valuable lesson for countries with limited resource in addressing gaps in human resources and strengthen HIS performance. [Ethiop. J. Health Dev. 2024; 38(SI-2)] Keywords: HIS performance, Data quality, Data use, COVID-19 response, IT internship, Information revolution, Digitalization, Ethiopia.