By Kuda Pembere in Kadoma
Health promotion officers have welcomed an initiative to develop their own key data indicators for integration into Zimbabwe’s District Health Information System 2 (DHIS2), a move aimed at making their contributions more visible and measurable.
The Health Promotion Unit (HPU) in the Ministry of Health and Child Care began developing these indicators on Wednesday, with support from Cordaid through World Bank funding. This initiative seeks to address a long-standing issue where the impact of health promotion officers’ work is often attributed to other professions.
Established in 1984, the HPU has played a crucial role in controlling disease outbreaks in Zimbabwe. However, its contributions have remained largely undocumented within the country’s health information systems.
Speaking at a two-day workshop in Kadoma, Paul Chinakidzwa, Deputy Director for Health Promotion in the Ministry of Health, emphasized the need for this initiative.
The success of health promotion activities is implied in the success of other departments. For example, when the Extended Programme on Immunization (EPI) succeeds, credit is given to nurses. We are all involved, but HPOs are hardly mentioned. This has led to the need for this workshop.”
Chinakidzwa noted that integrating these indicators into DHIS2 would take time due to administrative procedures and approvals. He also highlighted the need to increase the number of health promotion officers at district and provincial levels to ease the burden on existing personnel. The Ministry is currently engaging the Health Services Commission to unfreeze posts for additional HPOs.
Social behavior change experts from Muthengo Development Solutions have volunteered to assist in developing these indicators. Ngonidzashe Marimo, Senior Social Behavior Change Consultant at Muthengo, underscored the importance of this initiative.
“We are supporting and developing indicators to monitor the work of the Health Promotion Unit. This work is of great importance because it not only helps the Unit but also enables the Ministry of Health to understand the impact it is making on various health-related behaviors.
“In particular, we are helping the Ministry to develop effective programs. Our work is not just about creating indicators but also about helping the Health Promotion Unit establish a system for monitoring their activities and performance. This allows them to learn, make adjustments, and enhance the effectiveness of interventions, ensuring they achieve value for money in delivering health outcomes.”
Marimo further emphasized the role of the HPU in achieving national health objectives:
“This work is crucial because it underpins the broader activities of the Ministry of Health. The ultimate goal of the national health strategy is to improve health outcomes, which are driven by changes in population behaviors. The Health Promotion Unit is central to that objective. Being able to monitor progress and refine interventions will ultimately help the Ministry achieve its national health strategy goals.”
Since health promotion is primarily focused on social behavior change, developing measurable data indicators has been a challenge. However, Marimo reassured participants that it is achievable:
“SBC is a complex phenomenon. It’s not as simple as other interventions. However, there are ways we can measure our behavior and change work, and that is one of the reasons we are here.
“We aim to integrate the current delivery models of the HPU with a more efficient, bottom-up monitoring approach.
“It’s not just about collecting data for use at the headquarters level, but ensuring that information comes from the grassroots—from the community level, district, and provincial levels—so that decisions are informed at all stages with real-time data on behavior change.”
Participants praised the workshop organizers, noting that the initiative was long overdue. One participant remarked that health promotion officers are often only recognized when health campaigns fail.
On the second day, attendees worked on developing both qualitative and quantitative indicators for health promotion officers. They also designed indicator matrices for tracking progress.
